The Food Safety Authority launches expanded inspection campaigns to support food security and promote exports

The Egyptian citizen is the focus and primary goal of the development process, and therefore improving his health represents an indispensable pillar in the path of construction and progress. Good health is a prerequisite for raising production efficiency, enhancing work capacity, and supporting effective participation in various areas of social and economic development.

In this context, paying attention to the health of what people eat and drink is of double importance, as it is the first line of defense for public health. The concept of food security has become closely linked to its safety, quality and health value, ensuring the protection of society from health risks and contributing to building a more stable and sustainable development base.

From this standpoint, the food safety system represents one of the basic axes for achieving sustainable development, as it contributes to protecting the health of citizens, enhancing food security, and raising the quality of food products, which supports building a healthier and more productive society, and enhances the ability of the national economy for sustainable growth.

Control campaigns on markets and food establishments

To achieve this trend, the National Food Safety Authority is embarking on its efforts to establish controls and requirements regulating the handling of food, launching field monitoring campaigns on various food establishments in all governorates. With the aim of tightening control over food trading chains and early detection of violations, ensuring the delivery of safe food products to the consumer, and strengthening the food security system, given that investment in food safety represents a direct investment in human health,This constitutes one of the main foundations for achieving sustainable development (Goal 3).

In this context, the General Administration for Factory Control carried out 67 inspection visits, aimed at assessing the extent of food establishments’ compliance with quality and food safety requirements. 10 establishments were registered, while 3 other establishments were able to fulfill the Authority’s requirements during the past week, as part of efforts to reconcile the situation.

In the same supervisory context, the Department of Control of Stations and Packing Centers carried out 58 examination and inspection visits in the governorates of Menoufia, Beheira, Sharqia, Gharbia, Dakahlia, Fayoum, Luxor and Beni Suef, and 3 facilities were registered during the past week. The administration also issued 803 export permits for agricultural crops to 606 exporting companies.

Follow up on compliance with requirements and standardsInternational

The Authority’s General Administration for Control of Storage Facilities and Strategic Commodities also carried out 48 seizure missions, including visits to 63 food facilities, to monitor compliance with international requirements and standards, ensuring safe and healthy food reaches the Egyptian consumer.

181 incoming food consignments were also seized, in addition to continuing to seize 22 laboratory-rejected consignments, within the framework of strengthening the system of control over food imports and protecting consumer health.

As part of the efforts of the National Food Safety Authority to follow up on strategic commodities and ensure their safety and quality, the administration carried out a number of inspection visits to rice mills and bakeries, in order to ensure the extent of compliance with the approved requirements and standards and to ensure the arrival of safe and suitable products for consumption.

Support and development of the fish sector

The Authority’s efforts extended to include specialized food sectors, which represent an important pillar in enhancing food security and diversifying food sources, most notably the fish and aquatic products sector.

Therefore, during the past week, the General Administration for the Control of Fish and Aquatic Products carried out 10 field visits in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, which included fishing boats and vessels, fish factories, suppliers of marine products, and export and processing companies, in order to verify compliance with health requirements and approved technical standards. The total number of establishments registered with the Authority reached 806 establishments, varying between factories, suppliers, boats, and fish farms in various governorates.

The inspection body’s campaigns on the local market

Within the framework of safety oversightFood traded in the local market. The Authority implemented its intensive monitoring campaigns in all governorates of the Republic, including 225 centers and neighborhoods through 31 branches of the Authority. During the past week, 1,209 missions were sent across the Republic, including visits to 4,486 food establishments that were subject to control. The campaigns resulted in the destruction of quantities of food items unfit for human consumption.

The authority also carried out 1,341 oversight missions on the circulation of food within rehabilitation and reform centers and security forces, in addition to implementing joint missions with the General Administration of Supply and Trade Police, and the Directorates of Supply and Veterinary Medicine in Cairo Governorate, targeting 42 food establishments.

Supporting Egyptian food exports

The efforts of the National Food Safety Authority extend to supporting…Competitiveness of Egyptian food exports and enhancing their presence in international markets, through the implementation of a control system that ensures that products comply with health requirements and approved technical standards, in a way that supports economic growth (Goal 8) and establishes one of the main paths to achieving sustainable development.

In this context, the number of exported food consignments reached about 3,549 consignments, with a total of 175,000 tons, issued by 1,380 companies, and including 737 types of food products, ranging from fruits, vegetables, grain products, and other food commodities.

Citrus fruits topped the list of exported fruits with a total of 20 thousand tons, while onions came in the forefront of exported vegetables with a total of 7 thousand tons, reflecting the continued demand for Egyptian agricultural crops in foreign markets.

Egyptian food exports also continued to spread in the marketsGlobally, Saudi Arabia came at the forefront of importing countries, followed by Lebanon, Algeria, Sudan and Libya, out of 191 countries that imported Egyptian food products during the past week, in an indicator that reflects the widening scope of Egyptian exports and the growing regional and international presence.

In conclusion, these efforts confirm that building a safe food system represents a strategic investment in human health, and a major pillar of food security, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goal (2) the complete elimination of hunger, and Goal (3) good health and well-being. It is also one of the components of enhancing the competitiveness of the Egyptian product in global markets.

From this standpoint, The Earth Guards Foundation confirms that investing in food safety represents a direct investment in humans, as they are the focus and goal of development, and that promotingThe regulatory system, raising the quality of food products, and supporting national exports constitute integrated pillars that contribute to protecting public health, enhancing food security, and consolidating the foundations of sustainable development in the new republic.