Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met with Tarek El-Hoby, head of the National Food Safety Authority, to review the progress made in implementing the authority's strategic plan for 2023-2026. The meeting, held today, focused on the plan's objectives, which aim to bolster food safety efforts, foster a conducive environment for the development of Egypt's food and agricultural production sector, and enhance trust in Egyptian food products. Madbouly emphasised the importance of monitoring the implementation of the authority's strategy. He noted that the strategy seeks to protect consumer health, promote research, innovation and technology development, and improve the efficiency of human resources and infrastructure related to food control systems, all within the framework of Egypt's Sustainable Development Strategy, "Vision 2030". During the meeting, El-Hoby detailed the achievements made regarding the five main objectives of the food safety authority's strategic plan. The first strategic objective, focused on enhancing the culture of compliance with best practices in food safety among Egyptian food producers and operators, has seen the implementation of technical inspection checklists designed in coordination with industrial chambers for various activities. These measures are part of food safety regulations aimed at promoting sound practices and a culture of health safety, consistent with preventive food safety controls. The authority has also established a policy to support compliance and oversight, moving from voluntary control to assisted compliance, directed compliance, and finally, the enforcement of regulatory decisions. Awareness campaigns targeting both food producers and consumers have been launched, and specialised inspection checklists have been developed for packing stations. Simplified procedures for food facility operators registered with the authority have been introduced, including reduced inspection rates. Regarding the second objective, which focuses on updating food safety legislation and activating supporting regulatory frameworks, the authority has prepared the initial draft of a mechanism for creating and reviewing mandatory technical regulations. This ensures greater private sector participation and transparency, which strengthens Egypt's international position in food safety legislation. The authority has also established a risk-based food control system, modified the control system for packing stations, and updated the Egyptian standard for the shelf life of certain food products. As part of its commitment to transparency, the authority launched an online version of its journal to publish legislation, decisions, and research papers, and has introduced a mechanism to expedite the release of imported production inputs at border crossings. El-Hoby noted that the third objective, which promotes cooperation with trade partners and stakeholders to enhance Egypt's role as a producer of food and agricultural products and build trust in national products, includes efforts to unify food control efforts with regional partners, particularly in the Arab and African regions. The authority has increased the participation of Egyptian delegations in international events and in the activities of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. It has also signed cooperation and mutual recognition protocols with several countries. The authority is working with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to implement an evaluation of the national food control system in Egypt. The fourth strategic objective involves building scientific capabilities by strengthening the authority's laboratories and enhancing their role. Newly established reference laboratories are expected to support local laboratory capacity in collaboration with governmental and private laboratories. The authority is equipping new laboratories with the latest equipment and developing training programs for personnel, and working to connect all laboratories through an electronic system to expedite the sharing of information. El-Hoby stated that the fifth strategic objective focuses on building a qualified workforce and improving food control processes. This involves developing a safe and motivating environment, implementing cooperation programs with technical institutes and academic institutions, strengthening the authority's information systems, digitising control processes, and developing decision-making tools. The authority has also implemented specialised training programs in food inspection and developed its website. El-Hoby also presented the progress made on the project to develop and automate the food production and trading control system in the local market. This project aims to provide stakeholders with access to services and offer decision-makers accurate analytical reports, and will be implemented in three phases. He also outlined the efforts to develop the authority's organisational structure to prevent overlaps in jurisdiction, and the adoption of a management system using key indicators in food safety. Regarding the authority's inspection activities, El-Hoby noted that approximately 76,500 inspection missions were conducted in 2024, compared to approximately 50,600 in 2023. The authority responded to nearly 99.7% of complaints received through the government complaints system. The number of export inspection missions reached 250, with approximately 1,046 consignments inspected. The authority also withdrew approximately 140,000 samples from consignments arriving at ports.
