LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

of November 30, 2018 No. 306

About safety of foodstuff

The parliament adopts this organic law.

This law shifts in the national legal system of provision:

- Regulations (EU) of the European Parliament and the EU Council No. 178/2002 of January 28, 2002 about establishment of the general principles and requirements of the food legislation, about organization of the European body for safety of foodstuff and about establishment of procedures in the field of safety of foodstuff, the European Union published in the Official magazine of L 31 of February 1, 2002, with the last changes made by Regulations (EU) 2017/745; and

- Regulations (EU) of the European commission No. 931/2011 of September 19, 2011 about enforcement of requirements to traceability of the foodstuff of animal origin established in Regulations (EU) of the European Parliament and EU Council No. 178/2002, published in the Official magazine L 242 of September 20, 2011.

Chapter I General provisions

Article 1. Purpose, tasks and scopes of this law

(1) the Purpose of this law is achievement of high level of health protection of people and consumer interests concerning safety of foodstuff, in view of variety of supply with foodstuff, including traditional, providing effective functioning of the national market.

(2) For goal achievement, the provided part (1), this law:

a) establishes the general principles of regulation of area of foodstuff and forages for animals in general and their safety in particular;

b) establishes and determines competences of the National agency by safety of foodstuff concerning safety of foodstuff and forages for animals on all food chain;

c) establishes and determines competences of the Ministry of Health concerning public health and supervision of some categories of the foodstuff influencing health of the population within the powers established present by the law;

d) establishes the rights and obligations of the operators of the food sector participating in production, conversion, storage, transportation, distribution and sale of foodstuff and forages for animals;

e) strengthens the legal and institutional base concerning safety of foodstuff and forages for animals.

(3) the Main objectives of regulation in the food sector are:

a) protection of life and human health, consumer interests, prevention of cases of fraud or deception, falsification of foodstuff;

b) use of the basic principle of policy in the field of safety of foodstuff - "from pitchfork to fork";

c) ensuring fair practice of trade in foodstuff, in view of health and welfare of animals, health of plants and environmental protection;

d) promotion of trade between the Republic of Moldova and other countries the foodstuff conforming to requirements of this law.

(4) Provisions of this law are applied at all stages of food chain.

(5) This law is applied to all foodstuff, including to the enriched products, additives to food and other types of the foodstuff intended for introduction on the domestic market.

(6) In departure from parts (4) and (5) this law does not extend to primary production intended for house consumption or to the foodstuff made, processed or which are stored for house consumption.

Article 2. Basic concepts

For the purpose of application of this law, the following basic concepts are determined:

food supplement - any substance which is usually not consumed as foodstuff and not used as characteristic ingredient of foodstuff, having or not having nutritional value which deliberate addition in the technology purposes in process of their production brings into foodstuff or reasonably is considered that can lead to the fact that substance or its by-products become directly or indirectly component of such foodstuff;

foodstuff of animal origin - the foodstuff containing animal products (the raw materials and products received from animals, birds, fishes, bees and aquatic organisms) or almost entirely consisting of such products;

foodstuff of not animal origin - plants and vegetable products intended for consumption by the person, such as fresh and tinned vegetables, including potatoes and sugar beet, fresh and tinned fruit, seeds of vegetable, oil-bearing, leguminous crops, cereal products, seasonings, fats and vegetable oil of origin, sweet, alcoholic and soft drinks, chewing gum, the processed foodstuff other than animal products, additives to food and nutrients;

unsafe foodstuff - foodstuff which in case of usual conditions of preparation and/or use is dangerous and can do much harm to health of the person by biological, physical, chemical pollution or not declared allergens taking into account food sensitivity of certain category of consumers;

the foodstuff received from genetically modified organisms and/or genetically modified organisms - the foodstuff containing new combination of the genetic material received by application of biotechnologies and/or organisms in which genetic material was changed by means of process which does not happen in the nature, by natural pairing and/or recombination;

risk analysis - the process including three interconnected components: risks assessment, risk management and informing on risks;

fragrances - products, which:

a) are not intended for consumption in this form, added to foodstuff for giving to them of smell and/or taste or change of their smell and/or taste;

b) consist or are created from: aromatic substances, aromatic preparations, the fragrances received by means of heat treatment, precursors of fragrances, other fragrances or their mixes;

the quality certificate – the document issued by the producer by means of which compliance of quality and safety of batches of deliverable foodstuff to the requirements established by the food legislation is guaranteed;

the registration certificate in the field of safety of foodstuff - the allowing document issued by the National agency on safety of foodstuff, confirmatory that activities for production, processing and storage, import and export correspond to the food legislation;

informing on risks - interactive exchange of information and opinions during all process of risk analysis on the dangers and risks, factors connected with risks, perceptions of risks between appraisers of risks, managing risks, the companies of food and fodder sectors, consumers, the academic circle and other concerned parties including explanation of results of risks assessment and the bases of the made decisions concerning risk management;

pollutant - any substance which inadvertently gets to foodstuff or contains in them as a result of production (including activities for cultivation of plants and animals, and also veterinary practice), production, conversion, preparation, processing, packaging, packing, marking, transportation, storage, loading unloading or distribution or as a result of environmental pollution;

food enzyme - the product received from vegetable, animal organisms or microorganisms, or from their derivative products including received in the course of fermentation with use of microorganisms, which:

a) contains one or more enzymes capable to catalyze specific biochemical reaction; and

b) it is added to foodstuff for accomplishment of technology function at any stage of process of its production, conversion, preparation, processing, packaging, transportation or storage;

risks assessment - the process based on scientific data, consisting of four stages: detection of dangers, characteristic of dangers, assessment of manifestation and characteristic of risks;

risk management - the process, other than risks assessment, directed to determination of alternative policy by carrying out consultations with concerned parties taking into account risks assessment and other legal factors and, as necessary, with the choice of proper preventive and control measures;

stern for animals the substance - any processed, partially processed or not processed or product, including the additives used for feeding of animals;

determination of the foodstuff and materials contacting to foodstuff - activities for establishment of compliance of the foodstuff and materials contacting to foodstuff, to the requirements provided by the food legislation and also information on these products and materials containing in the documents attached to them and on labels;

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