FAO helps strengthen food safety controls in Kyrgyzstan

With an estimated 600 million cases of foodborne illnesses annually, unsafe food is a threat to human health and economies globally. Kyrgyzstan is not exempt from the compound and complex risks arising from unsafe food. In response, the country has taken steps to increase the effectiveness of its food safety and quality standards across its food and agriculture sector.

A new project implemented jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Health of Kyrgyzstan, aims to enhance the effectiveness of the quality and food safety control systems operating in this Central Asian country.

The inception workshop held on 14 February in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, launched the project. The meeting was attended by representatives from key ministries, the scientific community, academia, food producers, and experts in food safety.

“Ensuring food safety is not only a public health priority but also an important step towards achieving food security and nutrition,” said Oleg Guchgeldiyev, FAO Representative in the Kyrgyz Republic, in his welcome remarks. “Effective systems for ensuring food safety and quality have enormous significance not only for protecting people's health and well-being but also for stimulating economic development and improving living conditions through expanded access to domestic, regional, and international markets.”

The new project will focus on enhancing the capacity of the Department of Disease Prevention and State Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision under the Ministry of Health. As part of the project, department staff will be trained to apply modern food safety standards such as Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), Good Hygiene Practices (GHP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) at various stages of food production and storage, including at the retail level in shops and markets.

Under a previous FAO project in Kyrgyzstan, more than one and a half thousand farmers were trained in food safety rules, along with employees of 37 enterprises involved in processing fruits and vegetables.

The new skills enabled businesses to effectively organize production control during manufacturing, storage, and sale of fruit and vegetable products based on risk assessment and considering hazardous factors in food facilities.

In the future, the expected impacts of both projects are an increase in consumer confidence in products, which should result in greater business profits.

“Food security is inseparable from food safety,” said Mary Kenny, FAO Food Safety and Consumer Protection Officer. “Safe food contributes to national economic development, trade, and tourism, promotes food security and nutrition, and is one of the factors of sustainable development.”

At the meeting, Kyrgyzstan, being a member of various international organizations and associations, committed itself to implementing food safety systems such as HACCP. There are, however, practical impediments that will need to be overcome, including the challenge experienced by regulatory bodies in providing clear recommendations to businesses and effectively monitoring their implementation. The new project is aimed at addressing these issues.

At the conclusion of the workshop, the participants expressed confidence that the new project would be an important step to continue support to  improving  food safety and keeping food safety as an integral part of the country's public agenda.