Dr. Hend Abdellah stressed that continuing this approach of successful cooperation serves the interest of the country and workers in the food industry sector, as food contact materials are among the most important developments and international requirements in order to ensure safe food. She explained that the laboratory has recently included analysis of food contact materials and has been internationally accredited, as they are used by the best laboratory methods, in addition to performing simulations of everything that comes into contact with food and affects it, in accordance with regulations and laws.
Dr. Reda Abdel Gelil, General Manager of Technical Affairs at the Chamber, added that the Chamber mainly focuses on supporting industries that use local raw materials that can be exported, such as Medicinal and Aromatic Plants and dates, reducing waste and reusing food and agricultural processing waste in producing secondary products and unconventional feeds, encouraging and supporting research and development, and modern technologies in production.
During the workshop sessions, Dr. Esraa Mousa, who is responsible for the file of materials and tools in contact with food at the National Food Safety Authority, reviewed the Authority’s Board of Directors’ Decree No. 17 of 2022 regarding binding rules for materials and tools in contact with food and the extent of its cooperation in this file with the manufacturers and users of these materials. Dr. Khaled Nagy, food manufacturing, packaging and safety engineering expert and Deputy Director of the Food Technology Research Institute, also moderated discussions on smart and environmentally friendly packaging and risk analysis. A detailed explanation was also provided about the methods of transfer of contaminants from various types of materials and tools in contact with food, and methods for measuring them according to the type and nature of each material and what it is used for in food, in accordance with the binding international specifications in this regard, in addition to a group of important lectures delivered by experts from the Chamber, the National Food Safety Authority, the Laboratory, and the Food Technology Research Institute.
Eng. Ashraf El Gazayerli also pointed to the efforts of H.E. Eng. Hassan Al-Khatib, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, in solving the internal and external problems facing exporters, in addition to the role of the National Food Safety Authority in re-exporting fish to the European Union, which is a major achievement in the return of Egyptian products to Europe and in negotiating the future export of dairy products as well.
Eng. Ashraf El Gazayerli said that the strategy of enhancing the competitiveness of food products and sustaining industry growth depends on implementing cooperation projects on more than one axis to support the sustainability perspective in the food industry sector, and that the Chamber adopts raising awareness of the importance of factories using sustainable packaging materials, and their proximity to areas where food factories are located, as sustainable packaging materials have become essential for export and raising the competitiveness of food products abroad, in addition to projects to reduce loss and waste in logistics.
Mrs. Rana Gamali, Vice Chairman of the Chamber’s Board of Directors, also participated in a session entitled “Success Stories of Women Entrepreneurs in the Food and Agricultural Sector”, where she stressed during her speech the importance of enhancing women’s participation in policy-making and decision-making.
She also pointed out that female entrepreneurs have achieved many successes in many economic fields, including the food industry sector. She also stressed that working women have a major role in the Egyptian society in light of the political leadership’s interest in the economic and social empowerment of women, and that empowering women with technology in the entrepreneurship sector, especially in agricultural and food fields, a vital investment in its contribution to the economic future of Egypt and the region, which requires providing safe and professional work environments that allow women to advance and innovate.
Dr. Maysa Hamza also participated in moderating a session entitled “Governmental Institutions Supporting the Food Industries Sector” in the presence of Eng. Khaled Sofi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality, and Dr. Hend Abdellah, Director of the Central Laboratory for Analysis of Pesticide Residues and Heavy Metals in Foods, Ms. Elizabeth Kalishian, Deputy Director of the Economic Clusters Department, Eng. Alaa Salah El-Din, Advisor to the President of the General Authority for Industrial Development to develop local manufacturing, Major General Essam Al-Naggar, President of the General Organization for Export and Import Control.
The Chamber also provided exhibiting spaces for small and medium-sized companies that are members of the Chamber to participate in the exhibition at reduced prices, out of its keenness to provide the opportunity to develop growing companies in the food industry sector.