Quality and Composition of Food and Milk

Quality and Composition of Food and Milk

Prepared by: Economic Policy Research Center

In recent years, there have been increasing questions concerning the safety and nutritional value of food, milk and similar products available on the Georgian market. This haphazard use of substances most often arises from a lack of information on the part of farmers and producers.

The implementation of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area will increase the protection of Georgian consumers in this regard by setting specific limits to producers, which must be observed to avert threats to product safety and quality.

As part of the implementation of the Association Agreement, several important food safety regulations will be adopted in 2017:

  • Regulation No 489/2012, establishing implementing rules for the addition of vitamins and minerals and of certain other substances to foods;
  • Regulation No 1331/2008, establishing a common authorization procedure for food additives, food enzymes and food flavorings;
  • Decision 92/608/EEC, laying down methods for the analysis and testing of heat- treated milk for direct human consumption.

These regulations apply to Georgia-produced as well as imported products and lay down rules that must be met by all products crossing the border.

What do these regulations say?

The key goal of the regulations is to protect human health by making sure that all food on sale within Georgia does not contain contaminants, food additives or other substances beyond a safe permissible limit. What should the state do to achieve this goal?

1. The regulation chiefly covers the state’s obligations in terms of gathering and analyzing information. It obligates member states to provide the European Commission with the following information:

  • Evaluation of the national market to identify which vitamins and minerals are contained in foods;
  • Evaluation of vitamins and minerals in consumed foods;
  • Information on the intake levels of vitamins and minerals;
  • Information on the addition of substances (food enzymes, food flavorings) other than vitamins or minerals to foods.

2. In order to protect consumer rights and simultaneously enable Georgian products to enter the EU’s common market, a common authorization procedure for food additives, food enzymes and food flavorings will be established. The regulation lays down stages of authorization of substances and the role and obligations of the parties involved.

In order to inform businesses and consumers, a list of authorized substances has been created, which is updated and published by the European Commission. This list is always available to the public in order to keep them informed about authorized substances in foods.

3. According to the decision, the methods for analyzing and testing heat- treated milk shall be the following:

  • Determination of total solids[1] content;
  • Determination of fat content;
  • Determination of total non-fat solids content;
  • Determination of total nitrogen content;
  • Determination of protein content;
  • Determination of specific mass.

The analysis of these components will make it possible to identify whether milk meets quality and safety requirements.

Current legislation

Currently, Georgia’s Code on Food/Feed Safety, Veterinary and Plant Protection is the most important provision in this area.

Additonally, a number of so-called technical regulations, which are mechanisms designed to ensure the implementation of EU directives, have been adopted. These technical regulations include once concerning the ‘Communication of Information on Food to Consumers’. From 1 January 2018 producers, sellers and exporters, will have to fulfill the requirements of this technical regulation regarding the type and the form of information about a product to be placed on its label.

Another technical regulation already approved is the ‘Regulation On Adding Vitamins, Minerals and Some Other Substances to Foods’. As the title of the regulation suggests, it establishes restrictions on the addition of vitamins and minerals to food, including infant food. The document will enter into force on 1 August 2017 and it obligates the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs to keep a register of vitamins, minerals and other substances authorized for adding to foods. Products containing components other than those listed in the register cannot legally be sold either on the Georgian or the EU market.

A similar regulation is ‘On Maximum Acceptable Level of Contaminants in Food’, N: 567, November 9, 2015. This technical regulation is currently in force and, as the title indicates, sets maximum acceptable levels for contaminants in various food products as well as restrictions on the consumption of contaminated food. The annex to the ordinance approves maximum contaminant levels for various food products, with enforcement carried out by the National Food Agency.

In addition, the regulation on food additives, which has been already approved, will enter into force on 1 January 2019. This regulation specifies a list of authorized additives, the conditions of their use and rules about labeling.

The technical regulation on milk and dairy products has been in force since August 2015. It lays down requirements for milk, dairy products and products containing milk, and regulates conditions for their production and sale. The technical regulation defines various sorts of milk and dairy products (cream, ayran, yoghurt, kefir, kumis, sour cream, curds, nadughi, butter, fat, cheese, and so on). The technical regulation is in force and lays down special requirements for milking facilities and the collection and transport of milk.

Because of this regulation, today, supermarkets have to sell dairy products, for example, butter, with clear labels stating whether it is made of plant oils or animal fat; protecting consumers from being misled.

The final goal of all these directives is to protect consumer rights and health by setting strict standards for composition levels of foods and labeling, and to bring Georgian products in line with EU market requirements to enable them to be sold on the EU’s market.

Challenges to citizens and producers of Georgia

These directives will mainly affect state entities and business operators. However, small enterprises and ordinary citizens who are engaged in food production and selling will have to incur some additional expenses. This most of all concerns the many Georgian households who are producers of milk and dairy products. For example, in 2015, Georgia produced 676 000 tons of milk and dairy products[2]. According to official statistics, some 88% of total milk and dairy products consumed in Georgia are produced locally[3].

Responsible state entities

Responsibilities for the implementation of regulations mainly lie with the National Food Agency, the Revenue Service and the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs. For the implementation of the Regulation N 489/2012, the role of the National Statistics Office of Georgia will be important, as it maintains statistics on food consumption in the country.

Impact of regulations on society at large

These regulations are important for consumers as they concern the quality and composition of food, including imported food. As of today, the quality of food products and the control of their quality are decisive factors for the availability of healthy and safe products on the market. The Association Agreement and the DCFTA protect not only EU consumers from products hazardous for life and health but also consumers of those third countries, such as Georgia, that enjoy free trade regimes with the EU. The control of quality and composition of food is carried out on both domestically produced and imported food products. Especially important is quality control for milk and dairy products, because these products are consumed in great amounts in Georgia, especially by children.