Credit: MA

Luxembourg’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Viticulture has announced that the Luxembourg Veterinary and Food Administration (ALVA) recently organised a conference entitled "Safety on my plate: at the heart of the food chain", as part of the International Food Safety Day celebrated on 7 June.

This year, the public conference highlighted official controls and food compliance in the presence of Luxembourg’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Viticulture, Martine Hansen.

Nearly 300 participants learned about a wide range of food safety topics, including the controls carried out by ALVA and the Administration of Technical Agricultural Services (ASTA):

  • Salmonella management strategies in poultry farming, Vicky Binck (ALVA);
  • Monitoring veterinary drug residues in primary production, Dr Eric Gillé (ALVA);
  • Combating antimicrobial resistance together: how to act at all levels? Dr Sylvie Neis (ALVA);
  • Food supplements: miracle cures or false promises? Nathalie Jäger (ALVA);
  • Do quarantine pests threaten our food? Nadine Kieffer (ASTA);
  • Food chain controls in the interest of consumers, animals and the environment.

Before food reaches consumers’ plates, ALVA and ASTA monitor the aspects of animal health and welfare, food safety and quality, animal feed and plant health through integrated and harmonised control systems, the ministry noted.

According to Minister Hansen, the diversity of official controls of all links in the food chain highlights the complexity of the subject and the importance of the "One Health" approach with which these controls are ensured in the interest of consumers, animals and the environment.

Furthermore, food safety is highly regulated in Europe and is based on the scientific assessment of hazards carried out by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). In Luxembourg, ALVA acts as the official focal point for EFSA.

EFSA's work thus provides a scientific basis for regulations. Thanks to the high food safety standards in force in the EU, consumers can be assured that, whatever their choices, the food they buy and consume is safe, the ministry stressed. This is also the message that EFSA aims to communicate through its current #Safe2EatEU campaign launched in Luxembourg.