ONLINE SPRING SCHOOL " Towards food safety assurance: Approaches in Implementing and Enforcing European Food Safety Control"

On April 28-29, 2018, the Spring School "Towards Food Safety: Approaches to Implementing and Implementing European Food Safety Control" was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine. The event was implemented within the framework of the European Union Erasmus + project directed by Jean Monnet - "Food Safety Control in the EU" in cooperation with the Ukrainian Laboratory of Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products.

 

This event took into account today's challenges and thanks to the proper development strategy of the university on the possibility of distance learning, which was implemented in previous years, and the appropriate support of the university management, namely Rector Stanislav Nikolaenko, First Vice-Rector Igor Ibatullin, Vice-Rector for Research and Education, International Activities and development of Vadym Tkachuk, scientific secretary of Oksana Baranovska, director of NSC of international activity Oleksandr Labenko, head of NDC Volodymyr Otchenashko, dean of the faculty of veterinary medicine Mykola Tsvilikhovsky. Special thanks to the Dean of the Faculty of Information Technology Olena Glazunova and associate professors Andriy Blozva and Olena Kuzminska for technical, informational and consulting support of this event, which was implemented using a Cisco Webex corporate account, which has been used by our university for over 2 years.

 

 

The Spring School was attended by a representative of the International Office of Epizootics (Paris, France), the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, the National Erasmus + Office in Ukraine (EU project), international and national experts on veterinary and food safety , Institute of Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER), Organic-Standard LLC, Swiss-Ukrainian program "Development of trade with higher added value in the organic and dairy sectors of Ukraine", Ukrainian Laboratory of Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products, research institutes and higher educational institutions of Ukraine. In total, more than 170 people attended the event.

 

 

The conference participants were greeted by Petro Krainik, Head of Jean Monnet National Erasmus + Office of Ukraine and Valery Ushkalov, Doctor of Veterinary Sciences, Prof., Corresponding Member. NAAS of Ukraine, director of ULYAB AIC

 

Oksana Novokhatnya, Deputy Head of the Food and Feed Safety Department, Head of the Food Safety Department of the State Food and Consumer Service of Ukraine, shared the current changes in the legislation with the conference participants.

 

 

Valentina Sharandak, Candidate of Veterinary Sciences, OIE Capacity Building Officer, reported on the OIE International Food Safety Standards and emphasized the role of countries' veterinary services in ensuring veterinary public health.

 

Veronika Movchan, Scientific Director of the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER), highlighted the results of research on a key aspect of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and the DCFTA in the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) conducted by the Institute for Economic Research and Policy. consultations in 2019 in focus groups with a number of stakeholder representatives (government, business, civil society, etc.) based on a standardized set of questions. The aim of the research was to gain fresh insights into how the Association Agreements and the DCFTA are implemented in practice. In particular, the costs and benefits of implementing the EU SPS for farmers and the food industry, progress in implementing legislation, progress in setting up infrastructure, laboratories, "competent authorities", progress in implementing SPS on farms and food industries, awareness of exemptions for small family farms and local markets, awareness of the EU's recognition of SPS compliance by individual farmers / food companies, abolition of GOST standards. There has been greater interest and progress in the application of the new SPS standards among large farms and food businesses, and, of course, among export-oriented businesses. In addition, the level of awareness of exemptions for different categories of enterprises (very small family farms, local markets, etc.) was found to be insufficient. EU SPS standards are expensive to implement, but these costs are thought to be offset by the benefits of access to the international market and improved food quality for domestic and export markets, at least in the long run, although benefits are already being seen in Ukraine.

 

 

Extremely interesting, relevant and useful for the participants was the report of Vitaliy Bashinsky, Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of Directors the Union of Poultry Farmers of Ukraine, the FAO Expert and the Chairman of the Public Council at the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection on the peculiarities of the functioning of state control of food safety in crisis conditions. In his address, he stressed the need to preserve the conditions for the work of food market operators and understand the importance of consulting and advisory functions in order to ensure the sustainable production of safe food products of appropriate quality.

 

The topic initiated by the previous speaker was supported by the Head of the Department of Veterinary and Sanitary Inspection, Doctor of Veterinary Sciences, Associate Professor Marian Simonov (Lviv National University of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology named after SZ Gzhytsky) on counteracting the crisis related to food.

 

 

In the second part of the first day of the Spring School, Oksana Hitska, Candidate of Veterinary Sciences, Associate Professor of Bila Tserkva National Agrarian University, covered European practices and improving domestic training of veterinary medicine specialists in food safety and quality. And the Leader of the Module, Dr. Vet. Sciences, Professor of Veterinary Hygiene. AK Skorokhodka NULES of Ukraine Olga Yakubchak spoke about ways to harmonize veterinary education in Ukraine and current aspects of food safety in the training program in the field of "Veterinary Medicine" in specialties 211 "Veterinary Medicine" and 212 "Veterinary Hygiene, Sanitation and Expertise of Veterinary Medicine NULES of Ukraine.

 

 

Mina Barova, an expert on veterinary and food safety, who is a long-term partner of our project, stressed the features of the tools of state control of food safety - inspection and audit. She especially noted the significant progress of the State Food and Consumer Service in applying the European approach to state control.

 

 

Director of ULYAB AIC Valery Ushkalov, Doctor of Veterinary Sciences, Prof., Corresponding Member. NAAS of Ukraine stressed the importance of the role of laboratories in monitoring the safety of food and agricultural products in Ukraine, the capabilities of the Ukrainian Laboratory of Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products and spoke about the problems that arise in the laboratory.

 

 

Lyudmyla Ishchenko, Head of the Research Department of Molecular Biological Research, Candidate of Veterinary Sciences, ULYAB AIC, made a comparative assessment of the regulation of the circulation of GMOs in Ukraine and the European Union.

 

Module Galaburda Maria emphasized the new European strategy for food safety "from farm to fork" and legislative changes taking place in the European Union.

 

 

Svitlana Khyzhnyak, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor of ULYAB AIC, reported on current aspects of registration of plant protection products in Ukraine in the context of European integration processes.

 

The second day of the Spring School consisted of two sessions. The first was dedicated to the Organic Food Industry.

 

 

 

A representative of Organic-Standard LLC, the only certification body in Ukraine, professionally and in detail told the school participants about the certification of organic products production and the introduction of European requirements in Ukraine. Participants also had the opportunity to read the report of the coordinator of the organic component of the Swiss-Ukrainian program "Development of trade with higher added value in the organic and dairy sectors of Ukraine" Natalia Prokopchuk, who unfortunately could not personally participate in the event. Her presentation on the development of the organic market in Ukraine and the world highlighted the importance of state participation in promoting this industry and contained a number of useful links to information resources.

 

 

The highlight of this session was the participation of a representative of organic business Valentyn Obshtyr (LLC "Old Porytsk"), who also stressed the peculiarities of organic agricultural production and the importance of state support in this area.

 

 

About the welfare of animals in organic farming reported Acting Head of the Department of Veterinary Animal Hygiene. AK Skorokhodka NULES of Ukraine, Ph.D. of Veterinary Sciences Maria Kucheruk.

 

Maria Galaburda, stressed the EU's priorities for organic production and prospects for the development of this industry.

 

 

Of particular interest and admiration was the report of BIOMIN Ukraine Manager Oleg Konks on strategies to reduce antimicrobial resistance based on the results of RESIST Project, which was attended by Biomin.

 

Theoretical bases and practical application of methods of control of hygienic indicators, the content of pathogenic microorganisms and allergens during food production were presented by Pavlo Futernyk, Ph.D. biol. Sciences, Director of ROMER Labs Ukraine.

 

Olga Yakubchak, Dr. Vet. Sciences, Professor of Veterinary Hygiene. AK Skorokhodka NULES of Ukraine, Leader of the Module told the participants about the peculiarities of GMP implementation on the example of good practice in beekeeping, based on the results of scientific and methodological work performed in conjunction with Anna Yermak, Chief Specialist of the Department of Food Safety and Veterinary Medicine of the State Food and Consumer Service of Ukraine.

 

 

At the end of the event, participants were asked to fill out questionnaires to assess the results of the event. 110 listeners took part in the survey. It should be noted that all participants left positive feedback, and according to the organizers, evidence of the goal was high attendance - about 170 participants on the first day and more than 130 students the next day of the Spring School.

 

The participants' questionnaire was also supplemented with questions regarding their assessment of the effectiveness and benefits of distance learning activities.