With this indicator being at a level of 10%, while its average for European countries doesn’t exceed the level of 1.6%, it’s clear that there exists a high level of uncontrolled food in our country, which doesn’t meet the normal standards and values that food in many other countries meets. If we add here the high level of malnourishment of the population, which is 4.9% of the total population, then, according to the UN, situation in our country becomes even more alarming.
Let us recall here that the average of this indicator for all European Union countries is only 2.5%, clearly showing that a significant part of Albanians are malnourished. In other words, 5 out of 100 people in Albania do not consume the average amount of the daily normal food. The UNO goes even further confirming that in our country, there are around 100 thousand malnourished people, while 300 thousand others, according to the same organization, consume food that does not meet safety levels. This wraps up a very pessimistic picture of our country regarding this aspect of life.
Albania ranks last in the region in terms of the safety of food that its population consumes. So, Serbia (3.9%), Montenegro (1.8%), Greece (2.6%), Croatia (0.7%) and even Bosnia Herzegovina (1.5%) do not have the same levels of unsafe food that Albania, which the UN rates it with a level of 10%.
Food Authority: Dangerous foods are being taken off the market
The National Food Authority doesn’t allow products which have lower values of safety than the values permitted for them to be sold to consumers. This is at least the official stance of the experts of this institution given to Albanian Free Press relating to the extent that Albanians are threatened by food products that they consume. Asked on the tests that they perform on the ground, they add that when the result comes out positive, then measures are taken to seize the products and destroy them. According to these experts, based on a new guideline which has recently been issued, vegetables and fruits sold on the market, are also being screened for pesticides each month and in every region. “In terms of the activity that the laboratory of health and wellbeing of animals conducts, there’s a fall in the number of tests carried out year after year. This has come as a result of the fact that the Official Veterinary of the Veterinary Service has not submitted samples. Meanwhile, inspectors of the Food Authority are not legally allowed to do this”, this institution explains regarding the accusation addressed by the High State Audit that only 2-3 tests are done in the country on a daily basis in relation to the health and wellbeing of animals and the protection of plants.
HSA accuses Food Authority of not protecting public health
According to the High State Audit, Albanians are threatened by food products and that they are harmful for their health
The National Food Authority is not being able to guarantee food safety for consumers in the country. Such serious public accusation was addressed a few weeks ago by the High State Audit. So, in a special report regarding the Food Authority, this institution confirms that fruits and vegetables found in the Albanian markets are not undergoing the necessary tests from experts of the Food Authority. HSA also points out that these products do no undergo inspection during the cultivation phase, risking to be consumed with mineral residues and pesticides. Meanwhile, HSA also says that according to it, there are not enough laboratory equipment to carry out tests on food products currently sold in the markets of the country. But, according to experts of the High State Audit, it’s also true that in the period from 2002 to 2016, around 34.4% of the test results for the health and wellbeing of animals have not been up to standards. This openly confirms that Albanians are threatened by food products and that they are damaging for their health. “There’s a drop of analytical tests per sample from 3.4 in 2012 to 2.3 in 2016, which means that while production, processing, distribution and sale of food products are modernized, the indicators per each sample analyzed fall, thus leading to a fall in the impact of the lab tests conducted by the Food Authority in its work to monitor food safety in the country”, High State Audit also says.
