Chapter 12: alignment of the official food controls legislation with the new acquis

As part of the preparations for the opening of Negotiating Chapter 12, PLAC III project has provided support to the Ministries of Health and Agriculture in harmonising national legislation on official food controls with the improved Union acquis.

To meet the opening benchmark for Chapter 12, Serbia must substantially strengthen the administrative capacity of the veterinary, phytosanitary and national reference laboratories directorates and consistently apply and further improve the application of the risk-based approach to official controls. Competence in the field of food control is divided between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, depending on the type of food and the stage of production. The Ministry of Health is responsible for prescribing health and safety requirements for materials and objects intended to come into contact with food (FCM – Food Contact Materials), official control and verification of compliance with FCM safety requirements and their implementation.

PLAC III project activity in 2019 resulted in drafting a Rulebook on articles and materials that come into contact with food, which is aligned with the so-called Framework Regulation on FCM (No. 1935/2004), as well as with Regulation 2023/2006 on Good Manufacturing Practice practices for materials and objects that come into contact with food. As the Framework Regulation was amended in accordance with Regulation 2019/1381 on the transparency and sustainability of EU risk assessment in the food chain, it was necessary to harmonise the Rulebook. In addition, the Rulebook must be aligned with the new Commission Regulation 2022/1616 on recycled plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food. The Union acquis includes also some provisions of the Directive 1999/2/EC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning foods and food ingredients treated with ionizing radiation.

Project expert Lenče Jovanovska, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health working group, was engaged in drafting the revised text of the Rulebook on FCM, in the drafting of Procedures and checklists for official controls, taking into account valid EU requirements as well as their modifications adopted at the EU level. At the workshop held on December 5 in Belgrade, Jovanovska presented the new EU regulation on recycled plastic materials and articles that come into contact with food, which, among other, foresees official controls of recycling facilities. Mirjana Veljković, head of the Department of Border Sanitary Inspection, presented the Draft Rulebook on articles and materials in contact with food. Jovanovska also presented a proposal for amendments to the Law on General Use Products regarding the responsibility of producers of recycled plastic materials and articles that come into contact with food, as well as a draft of the Rulebook on recycled plastic materials and articles that come into contact with food. In addition, a draft Guide for the official control of materials and articles in contact with food was prepared.

Gordana Vraštanović-Pavićević, the president of the working group of the Ministry of Health for the drafting of the Rulebook on materials and articles in contact with food, conveyed to participants overview of methods of analysis in FCM sector.

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