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Performance of the actions meant to ensure the safety of plant-based foodstuffs examined by the Court of Accounts

  • 18.12.2021
  • 2384

The authorities currently responsible for the management of phytosanitary products and fertilizers (PPF) cannot fully guarantee the safety of PPF in foodstuffs of plant origin.

The Audit Report on performance of the management of phytosanitary products and fertilizers in order to ensure the safety of food of plant origin was examined by the Court of Accounts on 17 December this year.

The purpose of the audit was to evaluate the activities carried out by the authorities responsible for ensuring the efficient use of phytosanitary products and fertilizers, so as to ensure the safety of food of plant origin.

The audit activities evaluated the management field of PPF, analyzing the activity of the institutions involved in the process, such as MAFI, NAFS, SS State Center for Attestation and Approval of Phytosanitary Products and Fertilizers, NAPS, Customs, as well as economic agents and individual users. The audit activity focused on the period 2018-2020.

The audit identified a number of shortcomings in the management of phytosanitary products and fertilizers, with a significant risk of harm to public health and the environment.

The use of phytosanitary products and fertilizers plays an important role in the agricultural production of the Republic of Moldova by maintaining the health of plants, by preventing their destruction due to disease and infestation and contributing to their growth and development. However, improperly administered pesticides and fertilizers to crops can enter the soil and surface waters through dissolution and runoff and can also enter groundwater, with the risk of adversely affecting non-target species, both in terrestrial ecosystems and in the aquatic ones.

Pesticide residues in food can also pose a risk to human health, while residues in animal feed pose a risk to animal health and can enter the food chain. Particular concerns have been expressed about the health effects of exposure of people to pesticides with endocrine disrupting properties and the associated costs to human health.

In the Republic of Moldova, the complex circuit of phytosanitary products and fertilizers is provided by many authorities and stakeholders. Their involvement contributes to strengthening the process of using PPF, but also to reducing the negative effects of residues in foods of plant origin.

The audit work carried out has shown that the management of the PPF is affected by a number of shortcomings which need to be addressed in the near future. However, the continued admission of identified irregularities, regulatory and procedural shortcomings will further contribute to the deterioration of the state's ability to ensure plant safety, the environment and subsequently human health.

The audit remarks show that the main vulnerabilities of the PPF management process relate to:

  • Failure to fully fulfill the responsibility for completing and updating the relevant regulatory framework according to the international obligations and daily news;
  • The existence of ambiguous normative provisions, conditioned by the lack of secondary legislation;
  • Lack of a comprehensive vision of PPF management by the responsible authorities, thus creating process gaps and shortcomings that lead to improper and risky use of PPF;
  • Lack of qualitative and quantitative information on PPF results in the storage of chemical waste, which poses a risk to human health and the integrity of the environment;
  • Vague monitoring of the PPF management process conditions the lack of firmness in decision-making and the failure to take prompt action to address situations of increased risk to human health and life.

The audit observations indicate that the management of the PPF includes an increased number of elements and resources, the efficient use of which can provide benefits. However, the capacity to manage and monitor the whole process is not sufficient to cope with the conditions imposed by national law, international obligations and increasing trends in quality standards. Therefore, the responsible authorities, through the current PPF management mechanism, cannot fully guarantee the safety of PPF in food of plant origin.

In order to support the audited entities by improving and strengthening the institutional management and eliminating the deficiencies found in the audit, recommendations were formulated aimed at eliminating the causes of the identified deviations.

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