Resolution No. 396 of the Cabinet of Ministers validating regulatory legal documents regulating the activities of the Food Safety Committee.

This Resolution sets out the status, structure, powers, and operational procedures of the national Food Safety Committee. The Committee is established as an independent executive authority responsible for implementing state policy and oversight in food safety, veterinary, and phytosanitary matters. The regulation defines its organizational structure, including territorial offices, laboratories, research institutes, training centers, border inspection services, and specialized institutions supporting food safety, animal health, and plant protection.
The Committee is entrusted with broad powers covering the entire food chain under the “from farm to table” principle. Its functions include food safety risk assessment and control, registration and licensing of food and agricultural products, veterinary medicines and plant protection products, disease surveillance, border inspections, HACCP-based oversight of food business operators, product traceability, consumer protection, management of food-related health risks, and emergency response to outbreaks or contaminated products. It is also responsible for monitoring animal and plant diseases, regulating imports and exports, controlling pesticides and fertilizers, conducting laboratory analyses, improving agricultural soil monitoring, and aligning national legislation with international food safety, veterinary, and phytosanitary standards.
The resolution also establishes the Food Safety Development Fund under the Committee to finance research, institutional development, training, digitalization, international cooperation, technical assistance, and staff incentives. The Fund is financed through registration fees, licensing and certification charges, inspection services, budget allocations, grants, donations, and other lawful sources. The regulation further specifies governance arrangements, responsibilities of the Chairperson and deputies, performance evaluation mechanisms, funding and remuneration rules, transparency requirements, and accountability measures to ensure that food safety regulation is risk-based, efficient, and aligned with international best practices, including cooperation with FAO, INFOSAN, Codex Alimentarius, and other international organizations.