Eng. Ashraf El Gazayerli expressed his happiness with the strategic partnership and fruitful cooperation between the Chamber, the Food Export Council, and the National Food Safety Authority, which has become a distinctive feature of the Egyptian food sector, which achieved a 21% growth in exports in 2024. He emphasized that the requirements of the National Food Safety Authority are crucial for enhancing the competitiveness of the food industry and strengthening its presence in global markets.
He added that this ongoing discussion and cooperation between all parties helps resolve all challenges facing manufacturers and serves the country's overall interest in increasing exports, preserving consumer health, and improving food product quality.
He also mentioned that the Chamber supports any decisions or mechanisms issued by the National Food Safety Authority that enhance the competitiveness of food products and reflect its unique mandate and expertise in monitoring food trade and safety in Egypt, in accordance with Law No. 1 of 2017.
The Chamber's Chairman called for speedy registration and compliance with food safety and registration requirements, which ensure companies' continued presence in the market, growth, and export.
He proceeded to point out that the Chamber had presented to the Authority all the challenges facing the actual implementation of the new system for issuing validity certificates, whether related to the companies themselves or the Authority, including the increase in the analysis period in laboratories and the collection of samples, and confirmed that it had been agreed with the Authority that the analysis and sample collection period for some products, such as salt products, would not exceed two days, and four days for dairy and meat.
He then added that regulations are currently being issued for validity certificates for shipments exported to more than one country by the same company and for a single shipment. These include specifying the quantity exported and sampling rates based on the product's hazard level.
He also explained that the higher the percentage of companies' compliance with the Authority's registration requirements, the lower the degree of risk and the lower the withdrawal rates, as it reaches 20% for companies on the white list qualification list, while it reaches 40% for companies on the status reconciliation list.
The Chamber's president stressed the need to provide accredited laboratories in Alexandria and establish a payment mechanism that allows fees to be paid and certificates to be received from any of the Authority's branches to facilitate testing procedures for factories in the governorates and expedite testing procedures.
He also emphasized the importance of factories following quality assurance systems for primary suppliers through conducting supplier visits, collecting and analyzing samples to ensure their compliance with quality standards, and obligating suppliers to comply with food safety requirements, as full responsibility rests with the factory.
The Chamber's president also urged members to comply with all the Authority's technical regulations, including those for residues, contaminants, and food-contact materials, such as packaging. This will contribute to increased exports and compliance with global food safety requirements.
ُEng. Mahmoud Bazan, Chairman of the Food Export Council's Board of Directors, emphasized that the Chamber and the Council will continue to support factories in complying with food safety requirements, organizing numerous awareness seminars on how to deal with the new system, and training and qualifying factories for export.
For his part, Dr. Amr Masoud emphasized the National Food Safety Authority's commitment to cooperating with the Chamber and the Council to overcome all obstacles, raise awareness for the importance of food safety, and assist factories in complying with new requirements, mechanisms, and decisions.
He also pointed out the importance of the food industries sector in increasing exports and providing quality food to consumers, noting that the Authority is in the process of launching a digital platform to facilitate payment processes and ease the burden on factories.
Dr. Iman Helmy added that the Chamber is a strategic partner of the Authority and is represented on its Board of Directors. She noted that all of the Authority's decisions serve the sector and enhance the competitiveness of Egyptian food products in both local and export markets.
She emphasized that the Authority has been welcoming all companies' comments and observations since the new mechanisms were introduced and has been working to find alternative solutions to overcome any export and import difficulties. This stems from a shared interest in continuing exports to achieve the state's goals of increasing exports to achieve development.
During the symposium, all the challenges facing factories in issuing validity certificates for food shipments intended for export, storage capacity letters, the mechanism for inspecting incoming shipments under custody, and responses to members' inquiries were discussed.
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