Moldovan national food safety agency demands efficient measures to improve children's nourishment

Chisinau, 19 February /MOLDPRES/ - The nourishment in the pre-school and school education institutions records more major problems, for the settlement of which more joint and efficient measures of all participants in the process are necessary: local authorities, schools’ administrations, economic agents which supply products, the National Food Safety Agency (ANSA), etc. ANSA director general Vladislav Cotici made statements to this effect at a meeting on this issue, held by the institution today.   

“Among the most eloquent infringements discovered by ANSA inspectors in the process of children’s nourishment in 2019, there were the inappropriate delivery, carriage, reception and preservation of food products, expired validity term, change of the organoleptic indicators (smell, colour and taste), presence of banned food products, incomplete acts, etc,” Cotici said.   

According to the official, as a result of ANSA controls, last year, more consignments of non-compliant food products were withdrawn, especially eggs, congealed fish, other perishable foodstuffs or which do not meet the regulations on children’s food in public institutions.   

“In the context, we compiled 99 official reports and imposed sanctions worth 185,000 lei,” the ANSA head noted.    

More participants in the meeting, among whom representatives of the Moldovan capital’s city hall, Education, Culture and Research Ministry, Health Labour and Social Protection Ministry, Public Procurements Agency, operators of the food business etc. came up with proposals, the goal of which is to improve the situation. The speakers appealed to all actors involved in the process of children’s nourishment in schools and kindergartens to be more cooperative, to observe the legislation and do their utmost in order not to endanger their health and lives.     

"The sanctions will be quite severe and in the case of children’s nourishment, we will not allow settling of accounts, tricks and other unlawful things, which would endanger their health and lives,” ANSA decision-makers said.   

At the same time, the administrations of the pre-school and pre-university education institutions were urged to prove responsibility and inform the ANSA structures when they discover inadmissible products for use in children’s nourishment.   

Presently, more than 2,500 nourishment units placed in school and pre-school institutions work in Moldova.