Agro-food chain management Law.

This Law regulates: 1. bodies, carrying out state policies, official control and other official activities along the agro-food chain; 2. bodies carrying out risk assessment along the agro-food chain and exchange of information about risks along the agro-food chain; 3. general requirements for carrying out official control and other official activities along the agro-food chain on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria; 4. specific requirements for carrying out official control and other official activities related to food chain on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria; 5. conditions and order for: (a) development and implementation of a Multiannual National Control Plan; (b) sampling, designation of laboratories for official control purposes and of national reference laboratories; 6. coordination and interaction of involved control bodies of the agro-food; 7. implementation of administrative assistance and cooperation in the field of the agro-food chain between competent authorities of the Republic of Bulgaria, other Member States, European Commission and other institutions of the European Union; 8. the use on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria of official information management system (IMSOC) according to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1715 laying down rules for the functioning of the information management system for official controls and its system components (‘the IMSOC Regulation’); 9. measures in crisis management and emergency situations along the agro-food chain; 10. financing of activities related to the official control and other official activities along the agro-food chain.
The text is divided into eight thematic Chapters as follows: (Chapter One) Basic provisions; (Chapter Two) Competent authorities in the agricultural chain (also references regarding the genetically modified organisms and their monitoring); (Chapter Three) Official control and other official activities in the agricultural chain; (Chapter Four) Coordination and interaction of agricultural chain inspection authorities with other authorities; (Chapter Five) Implementation of administrative assistance and cooperation in agro-food chain between competent authority of the Republic of Bulgaria and other member states of European Commission and other institutions of the European Union; (Chapter Six) Crisis and emergency management measures in the agricultural chain ; (Chapter Seven) Financing of activities related to official control and other official activities in the agricultural chain; (Chapter Eight) Administrative and criminal provisions. Section “Final provisions” sets several legislative and procedural interaction rules and deriving amendments. Agro-food chain management measures provided in this Law are in strict relation with several sectors and practices that are all interconnected with the food chain and relevant food safety issues (see Chapter Two, Section I-Bodies implementing the state policy along the agro-food chain-article 2 providing the list of national policies that are aimed for the meaning of this Law).