Food in Azerbaijan to pass state registration through "ASAN" system
By Sara Israfilbayova
Starting from July 1, the Azerbaijan Food Safety Agency will begin to supervise food safety, as well veterinary and phytosanitary areas in the country.
Chairman of the Food Safety Agency Goshgar Tahmazli said that the state registration of food products will be carried out by the “ASAN” Service.
“The products manufactured at the enterprises will undergo international examination, after which they will be evaluated by the experts and sent to the laboratory,” he said.
Tahmazli added that starting from July 1, the Ministry of Agriculture will start vaccination in the veterinary sphere.
“At the same time, operations on spraying plants with medicines will also begin,” he noted.
He went on to say that Azerbaijan’s Cabinet of Ministers is amending the existing decision on the supply and registration of agrochemicals in Azerbaijan.
He stressed the process of supply and registration of agrochemicals will be controlled by Azerbaijani ministries of healthcare, ecology and natural resources, emergency situations and the Food Safety Agency.
Addressing the event, the Chairman of the Agency underlined that Azerbaijan will liquidate hygienic certificates issued to enterprises operating in the country.
“The imported goods, just like locally produced goods, will be registered in the Food Safety Agency and a security certificate will be issued,” he said, further adding that this corresponds to the international convention in this field.
Speaking of food storage, Tahmazli emphasized that people keeping meat in places of slaughter at temperatures above -4ºC will be punished.
“In hot weather, it is unacceptable for meat to be transported outside refrigerators. Peoples who committed such a thing must be strictly punished. In meat products, which are stored in hot weather, there is a favorable environment for hazardous processes. In order to prevent this, we strengthen control measures,” Tahmazli said.
In Azerbaijan for the slaughter of cattle will be created places of mobile type, adding that the slaughter of cattle in improper places will be stopped.
Tahmazli went on to say that together with the Agency for Tourism recreation centers will be monitored.
“The number of tourists visiting Azerbaijan is growing, so in the tourist zones of the country, measures of state supervision will be implemented in the field of food safety. Next month, monitoring and audit measures will be carried out jointly with the staff of the Tourism Agency at catering facilities in recreation centers,” added Tahmazli.
The Food Safety Agency was established by the decree of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on additional measures to improve the food security in the country in February 2017.
Under the decree, the Food Safety Agency will help ensure the regulatory framework of food safety (development and approval of sanitary norms and rules, as well as hygienic standards), and will carry out risk analysis, hygiene certification, as well as provide a quality certificate for food products exported to foreign countries, ensure state control over the protection of the rights of consumers of food products and at all stages of food production on the basis of the “from field to table” principle.
---
Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz