on the International Consumer Rights Day, Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan attended the “Safe Food, Digital Solutions” conference, organized by the State Food Safety Service of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Armenia.
The Prime Minister noted that the International Consumer Rights Day in 2018 is marked under the motto of “Making Digital Market More Honest,” which corresponds to the digital agenda being shaped in our country.
“I think that the digitization of modern management systems is one of the most relevant topics in all respects. Each executive agency should prioritize the introduction of digital instruments bearing in mind their numerous benefits. We need digital solutions in the field of food safety, too. We appreciate the measures taken by the State Food Safety Service in the field of consumer protection, such as the requirement of mandatory slaughtering, the introduction of the risk assessment model, the farm animals identification program and so on,” Karen Karapetyan said, adding that these measures seek to strengthen civil society’s and public-private sectors’ responsibility for food safety and quality control. The Head of Government said it seems to be obvious that all those issues cannot be addressed without discussing them or even criticizing each other.
“Consumer protection first of all implies awareness of their legitimate rights. Civil society and mass media outlets have an important role to play in this respect. From this perspective, the efforts exerted as part of the Week of Consumer Rights are aimed at achieving that goal. I am confident that today’s event will provide recommendations and practical solutions to digitalization of food safety in line with the proposed motto – “Safe Food, Digital Solutions.”
Karen Karapetyan attached importance to the recent work carried out in the field of food safety. “We have a clear idea of how we can make sure that citizens feel more confident that they are using safer food. Here, of course, it is extremely important for our consumers to be aware of their rights and have an active position,” the Premier emphasized.
The conference was attended by Head of EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Świtalski, RA Minister of Agriculture Ignati Arakelyan, Head of State Food Safety Service Ishkhan Karapetyan and other officials.