The State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection (SSUFSCP) and the Swiss-Ukrainian Program "Higher Value Added Trade Development in the Organic and Dairy Sectors of Ukraine" (QFTP, Program) continue to focus on improving the national system of control over the safety of milk and dairy products to bring the country closer to EU membership.

Thus, from July 8 to 11, 2024, a practical part of the training under a special short-term training program on "Peculiarities of conducting state control measures of dairy processing enterprises for compliance with EU and national legislation" was held in Vinnytsia region in cooperation with the training center of the State Research Institute for Laboratory Diagnostics and Veterinary and Sanitary Expertise (SRILDVSE). The training was attended by 19 participants, including representatives of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, SSUFSCP and SRILDVSE.

The goal of the training was to develop and improve the level of professional knowledge and competencies of the participants on the specifics of the practical implementation of state control measures at dairy processing enterprises for compliance with EU and national legislation, as well as to train trainers at the regional level. After the training, the trainers will be able to conduct practical simulation inspections of dairy processing plants for compliance with EU requirements, which is the basis for including the food business establishment in the list of food exporters to EU member states, as well as risk-based inspections of food business operators' compliance with national food legislation and requirements for the safety and quality of milk and dairy products.

Iryna Vysotska, Coordinator of the Dairy Sector component, QFTP, in her welcoming remarks noted that the Program experts provide ongoing support to the SSUFSCP in harmonizing approaches to state control of milk and dairy market operators in line with EU requirements, as this also contributes to the development of trade potential of the dairy sector in Ukraine. She also thanked the representatives of the SSUFSCP in Vinnytsia region and the involved food business operators (FBOs) for their assistance in organizing this event, in particular for the opportunity to conduct practical simulation inspections of dairy processing enterprises, which is extremely important for both inspectors and FBOs.

Vitaliy Bashynskyi, Consultant of Dairy Sector Component, QFTP, noted that in order to implement a system of control over the production and circulation of safe dairy products in accordance with EU requirements, it is very important to change the approach to inspection to ensure efficient use of time and available resources, but at the same time to pay attention to risk factors that can lead to the placing on the market of unsafe products.

Dmytro Unguryan, Head of the Directorate of Animal Health and Welfare, Organization of Anti-Epizootic Measures of the Department of Food Safety and Veterinary Medicine of SSUFSCP, thanked Switzerland and QFTP experts for organizing such events, as it is an opportunity for regional specialists to gain new knowledge and practical experience. According to him, the train-the-trainer sessions contribute to the training of regional specialists who will be able to further disseminate and use the knowledge gained among their colleagues in the field.

The training program included practical application of the theoretical knowledge gained during previous online events. In particular, on the basis of Ukrainian dairy processing enterprises, the training participants, together with QFTP experts, worked in groups to conduct a simulated inspection for compliance with EU and national legislation. On the last day of the training, the inspectors discussed the results of the simulated inspections, worked on identifying critical non-compliances and their proper formulation, as well as identifying possible corrective measures to eliminate such non-compliances. The participants received certificates based on the results of the training and the final test.

During the training, simulated inspections of dairy processing plants were filmed in order to create a training course on the SSUFSCP distance learning platform on inspecting food establishments for compliance with EU requirements.

The next step is to conduct regional theoretical and practical trainings for other specialists of the SSUFSCP and authorized veterinarians by trained trainers.

This event was supported by Switzerland within the framework of the Swiss-Ukrainian Program “Higher Value Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine” (QFTP), implemented by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL, Switzerland) in partnership with SAFOSO AG (Switzerland), www.qftp.org and with the participation of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection.