As of 1 January 2018, a new integrated food safety and control information system will allow the whole process of food production to be managed from a single point with a view to protecting internal market and facilitating export, said participants in the conference “Application of new information technology to the food safety control system in Serbia.”
The integrated information system has been developed with the support of the European Union to ensure that citizens are more confident of the safety of food for human and animal consumption.
Implemented for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, the project has integrated information systems of the departments in charge of making sure that food of both plant and animal origin is safe and in line with food quality standards.
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Branislav Nedimovic said the new system will at any time provide information about the origin of the food, decide whether the food is fit for export and consumption as well as whether it has all the necessary permits.
“It is an electronic platform that would allow us to horizontally connect all Ministry departments dealing with inspection,” the Minister said and explained that the information system would at any time allow access to findings of the phytosanitary inspection or information about registry entries and results of the inspection.
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He said that the staff of veterinary, phytosanitary and agriculture inspections has started the training in the use of the system.
Nedimovic added that the system would be of use to them during negotiations for chapter 12, dealing with food safety.
Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Mateja Norcic Stamcar said that the EU supported the project with EUR1.3 million. She added that the Ministry of Agriculture agreed to provide additional EUR300,000 for hardware improvement in order to secure a long-term viability of the information system.
“The European Union will continue to support such initiatives because of the great impact they have on bringing Serbia closer to the EU and especially because they are rather visible to citizens and allow them to see benefits of the EU integration process,” Norcic Stamcar said.
Acting Assistant Minister for the Sector of Agricultural Inspection Nenad Vujovic said that the information system meant a lot as it would provide clear data base and be interconnected with every single agriculture inspection department in Serbia.
Acting Director of the Veterinary Administration Emina Milakara said that the system would “provide full traceability” and allow relevant authorities to quickly and efficiently gather data and respond to any potential incident.
Head of the Group for international cooperation of the Plant Protection Directorate Snezana Savcic Petric said that the system would ensure a more efficient performance and ultimately lead to a more efficient public administration and more transparent and responsible work due to public access to data.
