March 24, 2009

Romania and the European Commision (EC) discussed problems related to the country's alignment to the European requirements on animal health and food safety, according to the National Sanitary-Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA) in a release on Sunday (Mar 22).

ANSVSA chairman Marian Zlotea unveiled the action plan and strategy of his institution for the coming year.

It included the Romanian action plan for stopping the vaccination against classical swine fever by year-end, with such a move offering the required guarantees for lifting a ban on Romanian exports of pork products to the EU countries.

Zlotea stressed that lifting inside-EU export ban on pork products applied to Romania will not damage the implementation of the programme on monitoring, control and elimination of classical swine fever, but instead will increase the attention paid by the authorities and the pork industry to the close observance of all the set measures.

European Commissioner for Health Androulla Vassiliou voiced readiness to back Romania to resume the forward-processing trading of pork products inside the EU, with such products coming from areas and units that are safe in terms of swine fever and traceability, in case Romania meets the requirements set for the control of classical swine fever once vaccination stops.