Food safety

The European Commission has made significant efforts to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Bulgaria, a country highlighted in this year's initiative, reports BNR.

Oliver Varhelyi, the Hungarian nominee for European Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, has been sent back for a second round of questioning after MEPs expressed dissatisfaction with his responses. The hearing, which took place in Brussels, involved Varhelyi addressing the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, as well as Agriculture and Rural Development committees.

Food safety is the government's red line, Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı announced, emphasizing that a new effort to crack down on food fraudsters who jeopardize citizens' health will begin on Oct. 1.

In response to the outbreak of Monkeypox (Mpox) in African countries, European Union Health and Food Safety Commissioner Stella Kyriakides has addressed the bloc's health ministers about plans to donate vaccines and therapeutics to deal with the disease.

In a post on social media, the EU official stressed the need for coordination and cooperation.

A Sofia grocery store on "Vitosha" Blvd. was found selling chewing gum and energy drinks flavored with hemp and cannabis, as reported by the Sofia-City Regional Directorate for Food Safety. The products in question contained ingredients with psychotropic effects exceeding the legal limit of 0.2%. Their packaging also featured images of hemp plants, which is prohibited.

Events celebrating Europe Day and the 20th anniversary of Cyprus' accession to the EU are being organized this week by the European Parliament Office in Cyprus and the European Commission Representation in Cyprus, with the participation in two of them, of the Cypriot president Nikos Christodoulides, and the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides.

The EU has reached on Tuesday a crucial milestone with 70% of the adult population now fully vaccinated, European Commission announced. In total, over 256 million adults in the EU have now received a full vaccine course.

Health Minister Ioana Mihaila said on Friday in Petresti, Dambovita County, that in order to ramp up COVID-19 mass vaccination in the countryside, the Health Ministry is considering encouraging the involvement of family physicians, local administrations and priests. Moreover, the minister said, an ordinance is underway to allow family physicians to receive extra money for home vaccination.

Minister of Health Ioana Mihaila had a meeting on Friday with the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, in which context the former transmitted that Romania continues the efforts to increase the number of COVID-19 vaccinated people.

The European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, will be in Bucharest, on Friday, where she will be meeting with the Minister of Health, Ioana Mihaila, in order to discuss carrying out the national vaccination campaign in Romania and later on she will visit the immunization center in Petresti.