State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection adopts Danish experience to improve food safety, animal welfare and plant protection standards in Ukraine

As part of the implementation of the Strategic Sector Cooperation (SSC) project between Ukraine and the Kingdom of Denmark, a study visit of the Ukrainian delegation to Denmark took place. The visit was organised to learn about the principles of the official control system in Denmark in the areas of food safety, veterinary medicine and plant protection.

The delegation included representatives of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection, and the Embassy of Denmark in Ukraine.

The participants learnt about the effective system of official control, modern approaches to ensuring animal welfare, as well as the legislative framework of Denmark and the EU. Special attention was paid to digital tools that increase transparency and quality of control.

During the trip, the delegation visited the competent Danish authorities - the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration and the Danish Agency for Agriculture and Fisheries.

In addition, the Ukrainian delegation visited a number of control objects in certain areas of economic activity, where they got acquainted with the control system:

• street trading zone in Copenhagen - to study the practical application of food safety legislation;
• Lundby organic dairy farm - to get acquainted with the control mechanisms in accordance with the requirements of Regulation (EU) № 2017/625;
• WPM wood processing company - in the context of compliance with the requirements of the international standard ISPM 15.

The experts of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection shared their experience in categorising market operators by the risk level of their business activities, which determines the frequency of state control measures, and spoke about the directions of digital transformation of the service.

Following the meeting, the parties agreed on further cooperation, which includes the development of a roadmap for the adaptation of the Ukrainian food safety system to European standards.

The State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection is grateful to its Danish partners for the constructive dialogue and support on the path to European integration. Joint efforts will help strengthen the control system and improve food safety, veterinary medicine and plant health in Ukraine.