U.S. Supports Food Safety Initiatives in Azerbaijan
Food safety inspections play an important role in protecting public health, particularly in the developing world where outbreaks of food-borne illnesses claim more than two million lives each year. Compliance with international food safety standards is also a pre-requisite for World Trade Organization (WTO) membership and for increasing the competitiveness of a nation’s agricultural sector.
To strengthen food safety protocols in Azerbaijan, the USAID Trade and Investment Reform Support Program (TIRSP) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) collaborated with the Government of Azerbaijan to produce five-day training in Baku on regulatory food inspections. The USAID-USDA training was designed to build the capacity of public and private sector food safety stakeholders in Azerbaijan for conducting regular food safety inspections that comply with international standards and norms, protect public health, and reassure trading partners of the safety of Azerbaijani products.
More than 50 participants, representing the Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health, State Agency on Standardization Metrology and Patents, private industry, educational institutions, and NGOs, gained the practical skills and knowledge to conduct internationally-recognized regulatory inspections of Azerbaijani food processing and food establishment facilities.
A second USAID-USDA training session was held in Ganja last month.
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| Participants in the USAID-sponsored “Regulatory Food Inspections to Ensure Safe Food” training observed seafood processing procedures at the Caspian Fish Company in Baku, Azerbaijan. |
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