Serbia
Last updated on 12 January 2024.
* Host institution of the national EFSA Focal Point. For information on the EFSA Focal Point network, please see the EFSA website.
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The Law on Food Safety is the central legal act which prescribes the rules on food and feed safety, responsibilities of food and feed business operators, the rapid alert system, emergency measures and crisis management. This Law is harmonised with Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002. The food safety bylaws are mostly in line with the EU Hygiene package.
Two ministries and their related services share the overall responsibility for food safety: the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management (MAFWM) and the Ministry of Health (MH), mainly in terms of risk management.
MAFWM prepares draft legislation and issues ordinances in the area of food and feed safety, animal health and welfare, and plant health.
MH is responsible for public health, potable water, certain areas of food safety (infant formula, dietetic food, diet supplements, salt, food contact materials, novel food).
The Expert Council for Risk Assessment in Food Safety Area (CRA) is responsible for scientific risk assessments and the development of scientific studies in the field of food and feed safety. CRA provides expert opinions on issues related to the placing on the market of novel foods, nutrient-rich foods, foods for special nutritional needs, animal feed, genetically modified food and animal feed, animal health and welfare, plant health, as well as the identification and characterization of risks.
There is no clear separation between risk assessment and risk management. MAFWM and MH established the Expert Council for Risk Assessment in Food Safety Area with members from all relevant institutions, faculties, and institutes which serve to provide risk assessments on request.
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management
| Name | Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management |
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| Acronym | MAFWM |
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| Location | Belgrade |
| URL | http://www.minpolj.gov.rs |
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management (MAFWM) is the central competent authority for policy and legislation on the enforcement of laws on food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary matters. Veterinary Directorate (VD), Plant Protection Directorate (PPD), and Sector of Agricultural Inspection (SAI) within MAFWM have the overall responsibility for animal health, animal welfare, food and feed safety, and phytosanitary matters. The official controls, depending on the delegated tasks, are performed by three inspection divisions: Veterinary Inspection, Phytosanitary Inspection and Agricultural Inspection – each of them covering the responsibilities within their remit in accordance with the Law on Food Safety.
The portfolio of MAFWM also encompasses other regional research institutions – veterinary and plant health institutes, public health institutes.
Veterinary Directorate
| Name | Veterinary Directorate |
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| Acronym | VD |
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| Location | Belgrade |
| URL | http://www.vet.minpolj.gov.rs |
The Veterinary Directorate (VD) is responsible for the safety of food of animal origin throughout all stages of production, processing and distribution, including import and export. It is also responsible for animal health, animal welfare, animal reproduction, animal feed, veterinary medicinal products and residues, as well as animal by-products. Legislation and cooperation with other relevant competent authorities in these fields are in the remit of VD. VD is the central point for coordinating activities related to OIE, EFSA and RASFF.
The Veterinary Inspection division is an integral part of VD and veterinary inspectors carry out official controls on holdings and in establishments dealing with food of animal origin and feed.
VD implements all necessary measures to protect the spread of animal diseases and zoonoses, foodborne diseases and antimicrobial resistance.
The Veterinary Institutes located throughout the whole country support the work of VD and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
The scientific and expert support to VD is provided by the Scientific Veterinary Institutes (SVI) in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Kraljevo for certain animal diseases – as well as by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, which performs diagnostic tests related to animal health, food and feed testing, and participates in scientific work and training.
The National Reference Laboratory for VMP (veterinary medicinal product) residues is the Institute for Meat Hygiene and Technology in Belgrade.
Besides these institutions, there are designated state and private laboratories involved in the official testing of food of animal origin.
Plant Protection Directorate
| Name | Plant Protection Directorate |
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| Acronym | PPD |
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| Location | Belgrade |
| URL | http://www.uzb.minpolj.gov.rs |
The Plant Protection Directorate (PPD) of MAFWM is the competent authority for phytosanitary matters, including plant health (harmful organisms), seed and propagating material, plant breeders' rights, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), plant protection products (PPPs), plant nutrition products and soil improvers. PPD is responsible for establishing test methods for residues of PPPs in food and feed of plant and animal origin, the control of residues of PPPs in food of plant and composite origin, and the control in the area of the safety of non-processed and processed food of plant origin upon import, and feed of plant origin upon import.
PPD monitors the implementation of legislation and the enforcement of official controls in these areas.
The Phytosanitary Inspection division is an integral part of PPD. Phytosanitary inspectors are in charge of official controls on plant origin products in primary production. Plant protection institutes and agricultural services throughout the country support the work of PPD.
Directorate for National Reference Laboratories
| Name | Directorate for National Reference Laboratories |
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| Acronym | DNRL |
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| Location | Belgrade |
| URL | http://www.dnrl.minpolj.gov.rs |
The Directorate for National Reference Laboratories (DNRL) was established for the purpose of performing tasks within the area of food safety, plant health, residues of pesticides, milk hygiene and quality, and plant gene banks. DNRL has cooperations with the reference laboratories in other countries. It also establishes uniform criteria and methods, implements standards for the operation of authorised laboratories, and provides training for authorised laboratory staff. It is responsible for the testing of pesticides, certain plant diseases and plant gene banks, milk hygiene and certain foodborne pathogens.
Ministry of Health
| Name | Ministry of Health |
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| Acronym | MH |
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| Location | Belgrade |
| URL | http://www.zdravlje.gov.rs/ |
The Ministry of Health (MH) is the competent authority for drafting policy and the adoption and implementation of regulations for enforcement of legislation in the area of novel food, dietary products, infant formulas, dietary supplements and salts for human consumption, additives, flavourings and enzymatic preparations and supplements of non-animal origin, food contact materials, drinking water and public water supply systems. The Sector for Inspection Supervision (SIS), the Department for Sanitary Inspection within MH, carries out official controls within designated food safety tasks and in the case of food outbreak/epidemiology investigations. Public health institutes are tasked with the official testing of food and water.
The portfolio of MH also encompasses other research institutions – National Institutes for Public Health “Batut” (ECDC Focal Point), the Institute of Virology, Vaccines and Sera (“Torlak”), and regional public health institutes.
