National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia / Activities / Activity details
Monday, 12 January 2015
19th Sitting of the Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Committee
At the sitting held on 12 January, the Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Committee discussed food safety procedures with a special focus on the case of landfill cakes in Kragujevac.
The sitting was attended by State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Zoran Rajic, Head of the Ministry’s Waste Management Department Radmila Serovic, Head of the Veterinary Directorate Dejan Bugarski, Head of the Veterinary Inspection Sanja Celebicanin, Secretary of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce Board for Agriculture Nenad Budimovic, Head of Sumadija Administrative District Damjan Srejic and Director of the pound Proteinka from Sombor Borislav Tomic.
At the beginning of the sitting, Committee Chairman Marijan Risticevic pointed out the lack of planning documents relating to food safety and asked for explanations from the competent state bodies.
The Head of the Sumadija Administrative District Damjan Srejic explained the situation surrounding the case of landfill cakes in Kragujevac which were dumped at the landfill near Kragujevac due to spoilage. The Head of the Waste Management Department Radmila Serovic explained that since this was biodegradable, not communal waste, it should have been dumped at one of the nine sanitary landfills currently in operation in Serbia. She added that large quantities of this type of waste can prove hazardous for the environment, appealing for a reduction in the dumping of biodegradable waste in future. Radmila Serovic also spoke of composting procedures and processing of this type of waste and the importance of the reports currently being compiled so as to ensure eco-friendly waste disposal. The Director of the Veterinary Directorate Dejan Bugarski spoke of the problems in the operation of landfills and waste treatment, stressing that there are no organic waste processing facilities.
The Committee members had many questions about the unsafe cakes, the drafting of the abovementioned reports and implementation of HACCP standards, which were answered by the Head of the Veterinary Inspection Sanja Celebicanin. They also discussed the procedures for the destruction of animal and other food products, veterinary inspections, cheese import, dairy product pricing and export-import procedures.
State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Zoran Rajic informed the Committee members about the situation at the Cuprija pound saying that, for starters, they would be asking for the pound’s debt to be reprogrammed.
At the end of the sitting the Committee adopted a number of conclusions which it will be forwarding to the Government and competent ministries in the form of recommendations.
The sitting was chaired by Committee Chairman Marijan Risticevic.
At the beginning of the sitting, Committee Chairman Marijan Risticevic pointed out the lack of planning documents relating to food safety and asked for explanations from the competent state bodies.
The Head of the Sumadija Administrative District Damjan Srejic explained the situation surrounding the case of landfill cakes in Kragujevac which were dumped at the landfill near Kragujevac due to spoilage. The Head of the Waste Management Department Radmila Serovic explained that since this was biodegradable, not communal waste, it should have been dumped at one of the nine sanitary landfills currently in operation in Serbia. She added that large quantities of this type of waste can prove hazardous for the environment, appealing for a reduction in the dumping of biodegradable waste in future. Radmila Serovic also spoke of composting procedures and processing of this type of waste and the importance of the reports currently being compiled so as to ensure eco-friendly waste disposal. The Director of the Veterinary Directorate Dejan Bugarski spoke of the problems in the operation of landfills and waste treatment, stressing that there are no organic waste processing facilities.
The Committee members had many questions about the unsafe cakes, the drafting of the abovementioned reports and implementation of HACCP standards, which were answered by the Head of the Veterinary Inspection Sanja Celebicanin. They also discussed the procedures for the destruction of animal and other food products, veterinary inspections, cheese import, dairy product pricing and export-import procedures.
State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Zoran Rajic informed the Committee members about the situation at the Cuprija pound saying that, for starters, they would be asking for the pound’s debt to be reprogrammed.
At the end of the sitting the Committee adopted a number of conclusions which it will be forwarding to the Government and competent ministries in the form of recommendations.
The sitting was chaired by Committee Chairman Marijan Risticevic.