Promoting Industrial Growth and Encouraging Foreign Direct Investment in Egypt
Food Safety
Responsible Entities
- The lack of human resources within NFSA to effectively and efficiently carry out their functions and adopt new work mechanisms that are in line with international food safety control systems. Under the pretext of an increasingly bloated bureaucracy, competent authorities continue to deny the requests of the newly- established NFSA to recruit or contract with qualified individuals with diversified expertise to assist in meeting its mandate. Additionally, lack of awareness and appreciation of the important role to be played by NFSA is further aggravating the situation; competent authorities are requested NFSA to shrink its already-approved organizational structure, which is necessary for implementing the type of integrated activities and mission NFSA aims to achieve. So far, NFSA did not receive the necessary approvals from the Central Agency for Organization and Administration regarding the staffing table and job descriptions, at the same time, in an effort to undermine NFSA, agencies that were assigned the oversight functions prior to its establishment either refuse to second their employees to it, or prevent them from joining its ranks.
- All powers and prerogatives granted to NFSA under Law No. 1 of 2017, are ignored; it is treated like any other public agency with regards to public expenditure rationalization. Thus, NFSA is not able to secure the needed resources, such as vehicles, for its staff to carry out food safety inspections of food establishments. More generally, the lack of an adequate budget is impeding NFSA for fulfilling its expansive and important mandate, entails ensuring the food safety for millions of Egyptians, including vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, the sick, and others; the work of NAFS also safeguards investments in two major revenue-generating sectors: the food processing sector, one of the leading sectors in terms of exports, as well as the tourism sector by ensuring the provision of safe and hygienic food in tourist facilities, being one of the most critical success factors in tourism.
Responsible Entities
Date 2/2/2020
- Allocate sufficient resources to NFSA to attract qualified professionals, and provide professional development training to its staff.
- Provide NAFS with a realistic budget allocation commensurate with its expansive responsibilities and functions to allow it to carry out its mandate in an effective manner (e.g., procure vehicles needed for carrying out actual food safety inspection nationwide).
Responsible Entities
Date 2/2/2020
Responsible Entities
Date
- The National Food Safety Authority (NFSA) has a number of weak spots, particularly with regards to its independence and effectiveness; there is jurisdictional overlap between NFSA and other agencies.
- Activate the role of NFSA, and enable it to exercise the authorities vested in it by law; prevent other government entities from interfering in its operations.
- Expedite the issuance of the executive regulations of the Food Safety Law.
- The Board of Trustees of NFSA should coordinate all food safety efforts, and clearly define the roles and responsibilities of the different bodies concerned during the transitional period in order to ensure complementarity.
- On February 18, 2019, the Executive Regulations of Law No.1 of 2017 establishing the National Food Safety Authority were issued.
- The unified food has not yet been issued.
Responsible Entities
Date 3/21/2019
- Expedite the issuance of the unified law to replace all other existing relevant laws.
Responsible Entities
Date 3/21/2019
Responsible Entities
Date
