Food reform to reduce regulation takes effect in Israel

Jerusalem, Jan 2 (IANS) The Israeli Health Ministry has announced the entry into force of a national food reform for facilitating imports, and reducing food prices while protecting public health.The reform is based on a uniform European regulation, aiming to remove import barriers for sensitive food to Israel, said a statement issued by the Ministry on Sunday.The move will allow a trader who meets the supervised standard of a "proper importer" to go through a quick process of releasing goods from the port, and increase control and enforcement in the marketing channels, it added.The reform includes the cancellation of many food standards, the replacement of a mandatory import permit for each shipment with a declaration form, a new digital inspection system to track the route of the imported food, and more.High-risk foods are excluded from the reform, including baby food, hospital food, nutritional supplements, and meat.At a later phase of the reform, a self-monitoring system of a "proper manufacturer" will be implemented, while reducing external supervision.
--IANS int/khz/

(Disclaimer: This post has been auto published from IANS news agency without any modification to the text and has not been reviewed by editor)