Project background

The Quality FOOD Trade Program is a program funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and is focused on value addition for dairy and organic products for the Ukrainian domestic market and export to high value markets. The dairy component is a follow-up initiative to the SECO-funded project "Establishment of a risk-based food safety control system in the dairy value chain in Ukraine", which was implemented by SAFOSO from 2015-2019. The QFT Program is implemented by the Research Institute for Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in partnership with SAFOSO.

Our work

SAFOSO is responsible for the technical assistance in the dairy sector component. Our work is centered around 5 areas:

• Increasing awareness about the importance of milk safety. Through the organization of wide range of information events and the publication of various educational materials the awareness of public and private stakeholders about the importance of milk safety will be increased. This increased awareness will create the basis for subsequent changes in the national milk safety control system.
• Improvement of the regulatory framework. In close collaboration with public and private sector representatives, the existing regulatory framework will be revised and improved. This revised regulatory framework will provide the basis for improved control and inspection mechanisms.
• Strengthening the capacities for integration of risk-based concepts in risk management. We will work closely with the competent authorities to increase their skills in applying risk assessment and to develop and implement risk-based inspection procedures. We will also work with the authorities to strengthen the organizational structures for risk assessment.
• Strengthening the skills of service providers for the dairy value chain. Service providers are essential for dairy producers and processors to help them adjust their production processes for improved milk safety. We will work to increase the capacities of these services providers through targeted training initiatives and the development of industry standards and guidelines.
• Development and implementation of a national raw milk monitoring program. We will support the competent authorities in the development and subsequent implementation of a national raw milk monitoring program. The results of this program will provide critical information about raw milk safety and quality to food safety authorities, milk processors and milk producers.

For more information about the program and the other program components, please visit the program website: https://qftp.org/en/about-the-program/

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