Photo: FAO

Through the support of the European Union (EU) and Sweden, under ENPARD IV, FAO implemented a five-day training program on food safety in the aquaculture sector. Inspectors from the National Food Agency (NFA) of Georgia and representatives of food business operators attended the workshops held at the Courtyard Marriott. The training program aimed at supporting the country’s aquaculture sector in improving food safety practices and implementing relevant EU standards.

Facilitated by an International Aquaculture Expert of FAO, Margarida Correia, more than 35 professionals from the aquaculture sector took part in the training. The training program’s content has been designed to respond to the existing food safety-related challenges in Georgia's aquaculture sector. Some of the key topics introduced and elaborated on during the educational meetings included:

-          Good Production and management in aquaculture

-          Good manufacturing practices and standardised operating procedures

-          HACCP methodology implementation and compliance with sanitary and phytosanitary standards

The educational module participants also went on a field visit to a processing factory and a trout farm, where they participated in practical exercises. The emphasis was made on the international requirements for auditing sanitary conditions.

 “The Georgian aquaculture sector can greatly contribute to the economic development of rural areas, and especially in mountain areas, but also has a great value from a nutritional point of view of the population. However, to be able to produce and eat fish and other aquaculture products of high value, there is a need to meet food safety standards. Under the ENPARD IV programme, with the support of the EU and Sweden, FAO keeps training producers to meet EU standards; this will be very important for consumers, but also will allow export opportunities for aquaculture products.” said Javier Sanz Alvarez, FAO Programme Coordinator.

 “Indeed, the advancement of food safety standards shall be in everyone’s interest, and, in partnership with FAO, the EU is playing its role in supporting governmental institutions and the private sector in this process. State institutions and the private sector can massively increase their capacities by learning from highly experienced international food safety professionals who have been working within food systems with advanced food safety practices,” says Ketevan Khutsishvili, Programme Manager for Emergency Management, Civil Protection, Rural Development, and Intellectual Property of the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia.

As part of the ENPARD IV of the EU, since August 2023, nearly 60 Georgian experts from private and public sectors have been trained on food safety in aquaculture.

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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 has also been working on improving food safety in the country, with additional support from Sweden, and having FAO and the Czech Development Agency as the main implementers of this food safety component under ENPARD IV.