The Many Pieces That Shape Food Safety

Author: Jona Plumbi

When food safety systems work, they are almost invisible to consumers.

We buy a bottle of milk, put it in our shopping bag and take it home. We do not see the inspections behind it, the laboratory tests, the rules that determine how it should be produced and handled, or the people responsible for checking that those rules are followed.

But when a food product is later found to pose a risk, those invisible steps suddenly become visible. Questions follow: How did it reach the market? Who checked it? When was the risk identified?

These questions point to something easy to overlook: food safety is not one check at one point in the food chain. It is a system in which many different pieces, like in a puzzle, must work together to create the full picture. Clear rules, capable institutions, responsible food businesses, reliable laboratory testing, functioning border control posts and effective inspections all have a role to play. If one piece is missing or fails to work properly, the whole system is weakened.

As Albania moves towards EU membership, putting these pieces together takes on another significance. It means bringing the country’s food safety rules and practices closer to those used across the EU, as Albania prepares for the standards it will need to meet as a member state. 

To support Albania in this process, the EU4FoodSafety project is working to put all the pieces in place.

Funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ Albania, the five-year project supports Albania in bringing its food safety system closer to EU requirements.

Putting the pieces together

First, you need to set the rules of the game. For that bottle of milk to be safe to drink, there must be clear requirements for how it is produced, handled and processed, or imported. EU4FoodSafety supports Albanian institutions in aligning the food safety legislation with EU requirements.

But making the rules is not enough. Someone needs to be able to put them into practice. The institutions responsible for food safety need the skills, procedures and coordination to carry out inspections, identify risks and enforce the requirements. The project strengthens these capacities working with Albania’s key institutions in this field, including the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the national Food Authority, the National Authority of Veterinary and Plant Protection, the Food Safety and Veterinary Institute and the State Entity of Seeds and Seedlings.

Then comes the question of evidence. How can an inspector establish whether a food sample meets the required standards? Laboratory testing is an essential part of the answer. EU4FoodSafety is strengthening Albania’s laboratory network, including its analytical and diagnostic capacities and the accreditation of laboratory methods. The project also supports the upgrading of border inspection points, another part of the system responsible for checking food risks.

Finally, there is the place where food is produced. Food businesses themselves need to be able to meet the standards. EU4FoodSafety supports Albanian food production establishments in preparing to align with EU food safety requirements, helping them understand what compliance involves and what changes may be needed.

Each of these elements serves a different purpose, but together they form a system designed to protect consumers. For Albania, strengthening this system is also part of EU integration: Chapter 12 of the accession negotiations covers food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy, and official controls.

For consumers, much of this work will remain invisible. That is perhaps the best sign that the puzzle is coming together: when we pick up a bottle of milk, we should not have to think about everything behind it. We should simply be able to trust that the system designed to keep our food safe is working.