“The Government’s twenty-point food safety action plan serves the interests of the Hungarian people and facilitates the improvement of food quality, the development of consumer consciousness and the increased efficiency of the activities of the food safety authority”, Minister of Agriculture Sándor Fazekas said on the Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County town of Tizsaderzs on Saturday.
Speaking at the 9th Crucian Carp Day organised by the local municipality and the Tizsaderzs Leisure Association, the Minister said it was important for the majority of foods to be produced by the Hungarian food industry using ingredients cultivated by Hungarian agriculture. This creates more jobs and helped farmers make a living, he added. “The Government would like Hungarian consumers to have access to safe, GMO-free, good quality and healthy foods”, Mr. Fazekas said.
“Based on the decision of the Government, a complex campaign is being launched to reinforce the regulation of quality food production”, the Minister said, adding that it is important for a categorisation system is developed that helps consumers distinguish between various food products. “Investigations and spot checks by the food safety authority will be expanded, and support will be provided for the promotion of voluntary instruments and trademarks that enable differentiation between food products”, he listed.
“Another task is the introduction and planning of an S-QR code trademark for foods. This enables information to be collected about foods using state-of-the-art computer equipment”, he added. “In the near future a campaign will also be launched to help increase awareness on the part of consumers. This will be facilitated using leaflets, publications and training courses. Information on food will also be included in the school curriculum”, the Minister explained.
According to Mr. Fazekas, the total cost of the campaign, which will run into 2019, will be some two billion forints (EUR 6.5M); 150 million will be spent for this purpose in 2017, followed by one billion in 2018 and over 700 million forints in 2019. “Our efforts will have clearly visible results within just a few months”, he added. The Minister of Agriculture also said that the Government would like to further increase the ratio of Hungarian products within the retail trade, which has already increased to 60 percent from 30 percent in 2010.