BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 13. The law of Azerbaijan "On Food Safety" was adopted, and 15 rules were approved as a result of its implementation, and amendments were made to 79 regulatory legal acts within the framework of harmonization to form the legal framework of the food safety system meeting international practice, Chairman of the Food Safety Agency of Azerbaijan Goshgar Tahmazli said, Trend reports.
He made the remark at the opening ceremony of the 18th Azerbaijan International Agricultural Caspian Agro Exhibition, held today in Baku.
The official mentioned that during the past period, 24 technical regulatory legal acts were adopted by the agency's board to bring sanitary norms and rules in the field of food safety, veterinary, and phytosanitary care into line with international standards.
A draft law of Azerbaijan "On Plant Health" was prepared and sent to relevant state bodies for opinion and is currently undergoing a wide public discussion with the participation of interested parties. At the same time, a draft law of Azerbaijan "On Animal Health," was prepared, taking into account the recommendations of international experts, to bring the existing legislation in the field of animal health into line with international requirements.
Tahmazli emphasized that the Red Bridge Food Safety Control Point, established in the nation's Gazakh district near the border checkpoint with Georgia, has been equipped with all necessary equipment and has started operating to promptly implement food safety control during import and export operations.
"In recent years, following progressive international practice, serious work has been carried out to confirm the health status of our republic for diseases that pose a threat to human and animal health, as well as those that cause a violation of biological safety in the environment. In this context, Azerbaijan was recognized by the World Organization for Animal Health as a country free from small-horned animals and highly pathogenic avian influenza in 2024, and at the same time, the status of freedom from African horse sickness and African swine fever achieved in previous years is maintained.
All these achievements, targeted measures taken to ensure biological security in the country, obtaining statuses free from a number of animal diseases existing in the world, developing international cooperation relations, and establishing new relations create fertile conditions for the export potential of a number of food products produced in our country.
For example, the export of edible eggs from Azerbaijan to a number of countries, including Russia and the US, has begun.
The continuity of the permit for the export of caviar products obtained from sturgeon fish grown in aquaculture to the European Union countries has been ensured.
The implementation of the measures set out in the "1st State Program on the Great Return to the Liberated Territories of Azerbaijan," approved by the relevant order of the President of Azerbaijan, has been successfully continued in the field of food security. In accordance with the requirements of the World Organization for Animal Health, epidemiological monitoring and other necessary measures have been carried out in farms related to the animal disease-free zone to be created in the liberated territories," Tahmazli added.
The Food Safety Agency of Azerbaijan, established by the president's decree on February 10, 2017, oversees food safety throughout the chain and regulates import, export, and transit operations under veterinary and phytosanitary control. Short-term goals include food safety control, strengthened import safety, public awareness, and laboratory optimization. Long-term goals include public health, animal and plant protection, agri-food export potential, productivity, and competitiveness in the agricultural sector.
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