Matís, Matvælastofnun (MAST) and the Ministry of Industry and Innovation yesterday invited a consultation meeting on safe food | Consumer protection and business interests
Safe foods | Consumer protection and business interests
The meeting held at Sjávarútvegshúsið Skúlagata 4 was extremely good, as well as the same kind of meeting that Matvælastofnun offered in the afternoon in Selfoss. Both meetings were full of people and a great and good discussion ensued. The purpose of these consultation meetings was to present the Safe Food project and discuss the state of food safety in Iceland.
The Safe Foods project was originally part of the IPA plan for Iceland's accession negotiations with the EU, but has now been launched in the form of a bilateral project between the German and Icelandic governments. The status of food security in Iceland will be discussed in the light of being able to sell food both domestically and on the international market. Meeting guests will be given the opportunity to present their views and questions in a panel discussion at the end of the meeting.
The Safe Food project is intended to ensure food safety and protect Icelandic consumers. The project enables the Icelandic authorities, the Food Administration and the municipal health inspectorate to better enforce legislation on food safety and consumer protection. Safe food is developed in collaboration with Matís, Matvælastofnun, the Ministry of Industry and Innovation, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and the Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (LAVES) in Germany.
The Safe Foods project will undoubtedly be a great springboard for Icelandic consumers, regulators and not least for producers and retailers. Consumers want more information about the substances that are and are not in the foods they consume and manufacturers and retailers also want this information to further increase consumer confidence in their products.
Further information can be found in the document Safe foods | Actions and yields and at Margrét Björk Sigurðardóttir from Matvælastofnun (MAST) and at Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir from Matís.