Research shows that there are concerns about food safety in Kosovo

According to a survey, the majority of consumers are concerned about food safety in Kosovo.

A study analyzed consumer behavior and perceptions of food safety in the country. It was a face-to-face survey among 300 people. The results have been published in the Italian food safety magazine.

Examples of problems in the Western Balkans, which also includes Kosovo, are brucellosis, the presence of mycotoxins in corn for animal feed, and heavy metals in the soil. The region has also been affected by corruption, weak law enforcement and low awareness among producers about food standards.

Food safety is a topic of concern
The findings show that almost two-thirds of consumers surveyed are moderately to very concerned about food safety. Highly educated, young female consumers are more concerned about personal health risks, food safety-related content and related diseases.

Consumers’ perception of food safety was assessed with seven constructs and 28 items, measured on a 5-point scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

More than 50 percent agree with the statement that hygiene standards in food processing are higher than before.

The percentage of consumers who trust the government as the responsible authority to guarantee the safety level of agrochemical residues was quite low at 25 percent.

Half of respondents agree that they do not receive enough information to properly assess whether food is safe. Less than 30 percent are satisfied with the safety level of the food they consume.

“An increase in consumer awareness and education about food safety can reduce the healthcare system’s workload due to foodborne illness and minimize economic losses due to medical treatment costs and other losses related to work absenteeism,” researchers said.

In another Eurobarometer poll, conducted in June 2023, 78 percent of respondents in Kosovo said they were interested in the topic of food safety. Also, 57 percent said food safety was the most important thing when purchasing food.

AMR in Kosovo
In other news, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG Sante) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) visited Kosovo in October 2023 to assess the antimicrobials . resistance situation (AMR).

In the animal health and food safety sectors, there is no system in place to generate data to monitor the sales and use of AMR and antimicrobials. No baseline data are available to assess the burden of AMR in these sectors, enable outbreak detection, and assess the effectiveness of future measures to encourage the reduction and prudent use of antimicrobials.

Some of the antimicrobial veterinary medicinal products authorized in Kosovo, such as growth and yield promoters (including colistin in combination with other antimicrobials), are banned in Europe.

Laboratory capacity is available at the Food and Veterinary Agency to monitor AMR in the livestock and food production sectors, although developing capacity for antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) to EU standards is required. Assign resources to restart Salmonella A previously existing monitoring plan for poultry farms could be a step in developing an AMR surveillance system in the animal health and food sectors, the EU agencies said.

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