Minsk, Belarus, December 14, 2010—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is helping Belarus implement international food safety standards to increase the competitiveness and export potential of food producers.  The resulting well-managed regulatory framework will contribute to sustainable growth in the Belarusian economy.

As part of a countrywide training program for sanitary inspections, IFC’s Belarus Food Safety Project on December 14 and 15, is hosting a workshop for more than 50 senior inspectors in the Mogilev region.  The workshop covers international food safety standards and requirements, HACCP food safety system and practical aspects of its implementation, as well as modern approaches to food safety inspections based on risk analysis. НАССР stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points and is a food safety management system based on analysis and prevention of potential hazards during the entire production process.

“Our specialists on sanitary epidemiological services now will understand more about development and implementation of modern international food safety management systems based on risk analysis,” said Igor Gayevsky, Chief Sanitary Inspector of the Mogilev Regional Center of the Hygiene, Epidemiology, and Public Health.  “The training facilitates not only the growth of competitiveness and export potential of food producers, but also their social responsibility, which in turn enables sustainable growth of the economy.”

Belarusian legislation now provides no incentives for companies to implement HACCP-based food safety management systems.  Food businesses perceive the current food safety supervision practice as excessive, burdensome, and disproportionate to the risk.

“Belarus has a strong export-oriented dairy and meat production, which makes implementation of HACCP critical and very timely,” said Olga Sherbina, IFC Food Safety Project Manager in Belarus.  “I believe that implementing these global standards will help place Belarus on the international export and investment map.”

IFC Belarus Food Safety Project plans to offer additional training programs for state sanitary and veterinary inspectors in Minsk, Mogilev, and Vitebsk.

About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.