The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched a project in 2020 to strengthen the capacity of Kyrgyzstan to ensure the safety of fruit and vegetable products “Enhancing the Capacity for Food Safety Management in the Fruit and Vegetable Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic.”

The national partners of the project were the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, the Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry and the Ministry of Health of Kyrgyzstan.

The project was financed by the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) and helped companies from Kyrgyzstan to organize production control in manufacturing, storage and marketing of horticultural products on the basis of risk assessment and taking into account dangerous factors at food facilities.

“Food safety is a challenge facing all those involved in the food chain,” said Oleg Guchgeldiyev, FAO Representative in the Kyrgyz Republic. “Producers, end sellers and their intermediaries are the links in the chain. A well-designed and fine-tuned food safety system prevents loss of product quality at every stage and reduces the cost of spoilage or depreciation, not to mention the risk that spoiled products pose to public health.”