The Export Marketing Bureau (EMB), an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), underscored how the Philippines’ compliance to the new EU food safety regulations influenced consumer confidence, public health and sustainable economic development.
“Throughout this training, our primary goal is to deepen our understanding of the food safety regulations in the European Union on their food management system, specific regulations related to food hygiene, pesticide residues, contaminants, and the EU Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES) and EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), as well as the import requirements on non-shelf stable composite products,” said EMB director Bianca Sykimte during a two-day training for Filipino exporters.
She said that in 2023, the EU emerged as the Philippines’ 6th largest export market with total export sales amounting to $8.4 billion including food exports valued at more than $400 million.
These include tuna, desiccated coconuts, preserved pineapples and pineapple juice, fruits and nuts, bread and pastries, rum and other distilled fermented sugarcane products.
The EU, through the ARISE Plus Philippines project, conducted a two-day training for over 400 Philippine food exporters on the EU Food Safety Regulations Manila and on the virtual platform.
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) keenly sought a deeper understanding of the requirements to export to the EU.
An expert from the EU’s directorate-general for Health and Food Safety Sylvie Coulon conducted the sessions which focused on the structure of the EU, the EU Food Safety Regulations and the specific commodities of interest to the Philippines.