The Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed of the EU (PAFF Committee) has decided to lift the measure of additional control of the export for frozen raspberries from Serbia. The measures of additional control of every tenth shipment of raspberries from Serbia for norovirus has led to additional costs for exporters and lower revenues for producers. Inspectors of the EU Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) visited Serbia in June and July 2019 in order to carry out field control of the conditions and the operations. Based on their findings, the PAFF Committee reached the decision to lift the additional controls on April 21, 2020.
Over the past years, Serbian Ministry for Agriculture, Sector for Agriculture Inspection has contributed intensively to establish a food safety system which guarantees the quality and safety of products in a very clear, sustainable and transparent way. The Ministry will work on upgrading this system, which was positively rated by the FVO. The basic rule for is raspberries not to be grown where animals are being kept, where waste is disposed or where a waste water treatment process is carried out. It's also important that fresh water is used in all processes involved in the growing of raspberries.
Viruses can survive in many agri-chemicals, so it's important for clean water to be used when preparing protective products and plant feed. The harvesting equipment must also be hygienic and the crates must be clean, maintained and disinfected. Also, they cannot be used for any other purpose other than harvesting. If a transport vehicle is used for any other purpose, it must be thoroughly cleaned and washed, as well as disinfected, per need, before and after the transport.
Source: Agroberichtenbuitenland
