Norwegian food safety impressed European Commissioner

European Commissioner Markos Kyprianou is impressed at the level of food safety in Norway. On Monday he got to study the system at sea. Today the focus is on agricultural food production.

The weather gods tried to play a trick on the guests from Brussels when the fog formed a wall around Andenes on Andøya on Monday. But a few hours over schedule the Coast Guard ship Svalbard was able to bring the European Commissioner responsible for health, food safety and animal welfare out to inspect the factory trawler Prestfjord north of Andenes. 

Safe food and good animal health
Minister of Agriculture and Food Terje Riis-Johansen is the main host during the two-day visit to Vesterålen. State Secretary Vidar Ulriksen from the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs was along at sea as a technical and policy guide. “I am very impressed at what I saw today”, European Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said right after returning ashore from the factory trawler. “I believe that the programme we set up for Kyprianou demonstrates how Norwegian agricultural and food policy holds together and how important agricultural policy is for ensuring safe food and good animal health”, said Riis-Johansen.

Today the guests visit the Norwegian Food Safety Authority in Sortland, and farmers Elly and Dagfinn Hansen in Hadsel will be able to show how an ordinary but well-run Norwegian family farm attaches importance to food safety and animal welfare throughout their entire production. The pair have supplied “championship milk” fourteen years running, and have also been honoured with the “Dagros Award” for Nordland county.

Riis-Jonansen and Markos Kyprianou. 

Markos Kyprianou and Terje Riis-Johansen visit Nordlaks, Inge Berg.

All photo: Astraea Antal, Ministry of Agriculture and Food.