Difference between revisions of "Bulgaria:Bulgaria"

In January 2011, the Bulgarian Parliament, following a political decision, established a new public authority by adopting the Law on the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA). BFSA, within the Ministry of Agriculture (MA), is responsible for the official control on safety of food and feed throughout the food chain. Together with the agency, a Risk Assessment Center was created.

Initially the RACFCH was established in 2011 and functioned within BFSA structure until 2016. Since 01 October 2016, following another political decision, the Law on RACFCH was adopted and the center was separated from the agency as an independent legal entity under MA. RACFCH is the main authority in Bulgaria engaged in risk assessment and risk communication related to the food chain. Its risk assessments and scientific opinions are published on the Internet unless there are statutory provisions that prohibit it.

MA is responsible for agricultural policy along the food chain. It prepares draft legislation related to food and feed safety and is responsible for implementing official controls of food and feed.

== Ministry of Agriculture ==

|Ministry of Agriculture

|MA

Within the Ministry of Agriculture (MA), the Agro-Food Chain Policy Directorate is responsible for the development, coordination and implementation of the state policy in the fields of quality and safety of food and feed, animal health, plant health and plant reproductive material, and border control on food chain safety. The Directorate is responsible for preparations and is involved in the development and coordination of draft legislative acts in the respective fields, coordination of control authorities within the Ministry, and in the coordination and preparation of a single multiannual national control plan in implementation of Regulation (EU) 2017/625. It also coordinates activities of the Ministry with the Ministry of Health, other agencies and branch organisations in the context of the quality and safety of food and feed, animal health, plant health and plant reproductive material, and border control along the food chain, and also coordinates activities between the Ministry and Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA). The Agro-Food Chain Policy Directorate is also responsible for market authorisation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It also serves as the national contact point in the Republic of Bulgaria for the following systems: Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), Administrative Assistance and Cooperation System (AAC), Food Fraud Network, the integrated computerised veterinary system called TRACES (Trade Control and Expert System), Plant Protection Products Application Management System (PPPAMS) of the European Commission, International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN), and maintains their functioning.