Tbilisi - Through the support of the European Union (EU), under ENPARD IV, FAO held a first two-day training session for some HACCP-compliant Food Business Operators (FBOs) in Rooms Hotel Tbilisi. The educational meetings aimed to share knowledge on food safety, hazards, and good manufacturing practices and sanitation operation procedures, which will be implemented in the participants’ business activities. By actively engaging in this comprehensive training program, participants who have previously benefited from ENPARD will become eligible for matching grants under the esteemed ENPARD IV of the EU.

Representatives of 19 Georgian FBOs participated in the EU-supported training implemented by AFNOR, an international service provider. Among the many other competencies, the French service provider has extensive experience assessing, consulting, and coaching businesses on food safety standards and certification. The first training session brought together FBOs of animal-origin food products, such as poultry raw meat, processed meat and dairy products. 

The training modules included the following topics:

-          Food safety hazards and preventive measures

-          Foodborne diseases and prevention methods

-          Good hygiene practices in food handling

-          Infrastructure and processing equipment requirements

The EU-funded training programme will continue in September with a second session for the first group of FBOs. Two more groups of FBOs active in different sectors will also be offered the opportunity to receive this training program.

Besides the training, on August 21-22, the premises of three FBOs were visited by the international food safety expert to assess their HACCP implementation and provide recommendations.

“To improve food safety practices in the Georgian food businesses following European standards is what Georgian consumers deserve. FAO and the EU, under the ENPARD Programme, are training companies to comply with advanced international food safety standards. This is important for the nutrition of Georgian consumers, but companies will also benefit as they will be more competitive on national and international markets, thus creating more business opportunities and jobs. Sharing international expertise on the matter is where the advancement of food safety starts and we are very proud to support this process” Javier Sanz Alvarez, FAO Programme Coordinator.

“Improving the food safety standards in food production is pivotal in advancing Georgia’s agriculture industry. This way, the national market has a consistent flow of higher-quality products, while the country’s FBOs have the capacity of seizing the many export opportunities that inevitably arise,” states Dr Ketevan Khutsishvili, Programme Manager for Emergency Management, Civil Protection, Rural Development, and Intellectual Property Delegation of the European Union to Georgia.

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The European Union supports rural development in Georgia through its ENPARD Programme. Aiming to reduce rural poverty, ENPARD has been implemented since 2013. The Programme started by supporting the development of national agriculture potential. Afterwards, it concentrated also on creating economic opportunities for rural populations in Georgia. Since 2021, the Programme is also working on improving food safety in the country, with the support of FAO and the Czech Development Agency as the main implementers of this food safety component under ENPARD IV.