CZECH FOCUS: Consumer trust vital, says food safety head
Czech Republic talks exclusively to Anthony Fletcher about
the country's post-accession strategy and the importance of
consumer confidence.
Milena Vicenova, director of the Ministry of Agriculture's food safety and agriculture and food engineering department, believes that the challenge posed by EU accession to food safety policy in the country has been largely logistical.
"EU accession has not changed much in the practical sense, but a huge amount of legislation had to be in place before accession," she told CEE-foodindustry.com.
"All food processors that didn't comply were closed, while those with minor problems were given later dates to comply. All our factories fulfilled expectations except 16, and 11 are still in transition."
Indeed, the Czech Republic prides itself on having consistently enforced strict food safety regulations. "We have always had good standards," said the head of the Federation of the Food and Drink Industries of the Czech Republic's legislation department Josef Sajdl.
"I would say that before the 1990s, our standards were better than some of those in the UK. Food safety standards are therefore an automatic part of the sector."
However it is now the unenviable task of Milena Vicenova and her department, which is the main partner to communicate with European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and acts as the point of contact for all ministries, to ensure not only that these regulations are met, but also that the food safety systems in place are continually improved.
"Now that all the institutions are in place, we have prepared a strategy with the ministries and agriculture and health, along with other institutions as well, to deal with food safety issues after enlargement. The system is there; we just want it to work better."
Vicenova believes that since the main tasks outlined by the Strategy to Assure Food Safety in the Pre-accession Period have been fulfilled, the main task now, as contained in the department's Post-accession Strategy, is to improve the system of communication among all interested parties within the country as well as the level of cooperation with Member States.
This means deepening cooperation with EFSA, the EC and other EU bodies and strengthening links with scientific committees. A system of health protection education and support will be developed by the Ministry of Health, the State Health Institute and the IAFI (Institute for Agricultural and Food Information). "Traceability is another important issue," said Vicenova. "The basic rules are already in place, but its not totally settled down anywhere. It is a question of consolidation and improving the quality of the system."
In addition, there is also still work to be done on amending procedures for the approval of novel food and genetically modified foodstuffs. And government decree establishing the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) is in the process of being finalised, while a crisis management plan for the food safety area is due to be drawn up by 30 June 2005.
"We would like to be well-prepared in crisis management," said Vicenova. "Terrorist attacks, floods, you never know. We want to be ready for any event. In fact, in order to get more experience of this type of thing, there will be a crisis communication workshop in April this year, with presentations from other countries, so that we can see what lessons can be learned."
In order to make the Czech food safety system run better, the department is also conducting a market research survey to find out public opinion on food safety matters. "We are asking 20 questions to find out what concerns people, what they are afraid of," said Vicenova. "We expect to get the answers by the end of March, and we'll use the information to develop a new communication strategy."
The bottom line of course is that establishing confidence in the country's food safety system is vital to the economic welfare of the sector. As has been shown by the experience of BSE and dioxins, any crisis of consumer confidence can have a vast impact on retailers, processors and agricultural production.
"Confidence in Czech goods is vital," said Vicenova. "There are now 450 million inhabitants within the EU, and if we are to place our food in this market, we have to make sure we have something worthwhile to offer."
"The main challenge for food processors now is still food safety," agrees Ministry of Agriculture head of external communications Hugo Roldan. "Food safety is the criteria by which consumers judge quality."
