Lithuania

Codex Contact Point

Health Education and Disease Prevention Center Ministry of Health of the Republic of Lithuania Kalvariju 153, LT-08221 Vilnius

Telephone:
+370 5 2778919
+370 5 2700107

Fax:
+370 5 2737397

Email:
[email protected]
[email protected]

Website:
http://www.smlpc.lt

Competent authorities

Name of authority:
The State Food and Veterinary Service (SFVS) and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Lithuania
Mandate/competence:
The State Food and Veterinary Service (SFVS) develops and implements the Government’s policy in food safety and quality as well as in animal health and welfare. The SFVS is accountable to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. The objectives of SFVS:
- To ensure monitoring and control of contagious animal diseases, zoonoses and of animal welfare, to eliminate outbreaks of diseases; to apply all the necessary biological measures for prevention from the introduction of contagious diseases and zoonoses into the territory of Lithuania and the EU;
- To ensure food safety and control at all the stages of food handling according to the principle “from stable/field to table”, to safeguard the interests of consumers, to ensure that the food supplied on the market as well as that intended for export complies with safety, labelling and other mandatory requirements established by the legal acts.
https://vmvt.lt/
The Ministry of Health lays down mandatory requirements for food safety taking into account the assessment of risk for human health based on scientific research, EU legislation and Codex Alimentarius standards. It is responsible for health and safe foodstuff consumption of inhabitants as well as for their healthy living. The basic type of legal acts is Hygiene norms approved by the Minister of Health.
http://sam.lrv.lt/

INFOSAN Emergency Contact Point

By the Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 „Laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety“of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ 2004. Special Edition, Chapter 15, Volume 6, p. 463), Article 50 and in 2011 m. 10 January. Commission Regulation (EU) No. 16/2011 are determined by the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed implementing measures (RASFF).
A rapid alert system for the notification of a direct or indirect risk to human health deriving from food or feed is hereby established as a network. It shall involve the Member States, the Commission and the Authority. The Member States, the Commission and the Authority shall each designate a contact point, which shall be a member of the network. The Commission shall be responsible for managing the network.
This is a full-hour service that allows you to send and receive alerts about unsafe food and feed, as well as to respond to them in the shortest possible time.
The State Food and Veterinary Service is responsible for RASFF and is contact point.
The procedure for the epidemiological investigation of the communicable diseases cluster is prescribed by the order of the Minister of Health (No. V-1159 of 7 October 2016).
The physician must notify the National Public Health Centre (NPHC) within 2 hours of a case of a dangerous and highly dangerous communicable disease, a death or an outbreak of communicable disease in a word (by phone) and within 12 hours to send fixed form instant message.
NPHC within 2 hours by phone and within 12 hours by writing report informs Centre for Communicable Disease and AIDS (CCDA), which evaluates the information, received and informs MoH on the epidemiological situation. If there is a need to provides information through the Early Warning and Response System (EWRS), the FWD EPIS. The data contained in the state information system for communicable diseases and their agents (SISCDA) is provided to the European Surveillance System (TESSy).

Food safety and consumer protection – laws and regulations

The current list of legislation, related to food safety and consumer protection in each country, is extracted from FAO's database on Food Legislation FAOLEX. While FAOLEX makes every effort to serve as a high quality, reliable source of information, no guarantee is given that the information provided in FAOLEX is correct, complete, and up-to-date.

The national Codex programme

National Codex consultative mechanism

As the WTO and the EU member, Lithuania has to follow the legislation established by the Codex Alimentarius As the WTO and the EU member, Lithuania has to follow the legislation established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, therefore national standards or regulations are based on the text of Codex standards. Codex standards regarding requirements for food composition (especially in the fields unregulated by European Union legislation) are currently of the most importance and interest to our country. In order to ensure the rights of the consumers to choose products according to their needs, national standards or regulations for classification of fish and fishery products as well for specific products such as sour cream, fermented milk drinks, ice-cream, fresh cheese products containing high levels of acrylamide and others are developed.

Providers of scientific and technical input to national consultation on Codex

There are the main stakeholders: Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of the Economy and Innovation, the State Food and Veterinary Service, Consumer Rights Protection Authority, the State Plant Service under the Ministry of Agriculture, University of Technology of Kaunas, Academy of Agriculture of Vytautas Magnus University, Health Education and Diseases Prevention centre, Centre for Communicable Diseases and AIDS, all food businesses.

Risk Assessments and Scientific Data

National bodies providing risk assessment and scientific advice

The National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute (NFVRAI) is an accredited laboratory for the official food control and national monitoring programmes. The NFVRAI provides service to the food control authority – State Food and Veterinary Service. There is a quality assurance and management system implemented in the NFVRAI which is accredited according ISO/IEC 17025. Laboratory investigations of food performed by the NFVRAI include chemical, microbiological, sensory, radiological as well as molecular biology and GMO analysis. New methods of analysis are implemented continuously.
NFVRAI was established in order to separate risk assessment from risk management and thus to strengthen protection of the consumer interests and implementation of the EU requirements in the fields of food safety and veterinary. Risk assessment is neither influenced by any political nor both economical and social interests. By carrying out risk assessment based on the research and scientific knowledge, NFVRAI identifies risks and contributes to reducing risks for food and feed safety, animal health and animal welfare, and environment. The autonomy of the NFVRAI is based on the scientific integrity of the assessment and findings.

Risk assessment, risk profiles, scientific opinions

Risk assessments and scientific advice is provided to State Food and Veterinary Service (risk managers) and are for the internal use (activities and their summaries are provided also to European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Specialists from NFVRAI participate in EFSA Scientific Networks’ meetings – reports of these meetings are public available on EFSA’s website http://www.efsa.europa.eu/

Official Laboratories

Official Laboratory:
State Food and Veterinary Service (SFVS) authorized National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute (NFVRAI) to carry out the analysis of samples taken for official control.
NFVRAI is designated as NRL for animal disease diagnostic and food safety testing according the order of SFVS Director 22 July 2008 No. B1-395 “Confirmation of Laboratory of National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute as National control (reference) laboratory” (OG. 2008, No. 86-3444).
National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute is located in J. Kairiūkščio 10, LT-08409 Vilnius, Lithuania.
Territorial branches of National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute:
1. Kaunas branch, Tilžės St. 18, LT-47181 Kaunas;
2. Panevėžys branch, Veterinarijos St.2, Pažagieniai village, LT-36222, Panevėžys district;
3. Šiauliai branch, Ragainės St. 80, LT-78109 Šiauliai;
4. Klaipėda branch, Kretingos St. 62, LT-92325 Klaipėda;
5. Telšiai branch, Luokes St. 99, Paežerės village, LT-88400, Telšiai district.
NFVRAI laboratory is designated as National reference laboratory and represents Lithuania in all food and animal health sectors. The NFVRAI provides diagnostic and scientific support to the SFVS. Besides NFVRAI and its five branches, perform analytical services for official control. The Food Risk Assessment Unit and Veterinary Risk Assessment Unit are responsible for risk assessment and risk communication and provide support and recommendations on minimizing the effect of risk factors on the safety of food, animal health and welfare and the environment.
NFVRAI and 5 branches are accredited according to EN ISO/IEC 17025 standard requirements by Lithuanian National accreditation body (National Accreditation Bureau - NAB). Accreditation Certificate No. LA.01.139 (valid until 5 of May 2020).

Bellow provided is list of subcontracting laboratories, however it has to be noted, that subcontracting is mainly part of chemical testing of food and feed.
• Eurofins W.E.J. Contaminants GmbH, Neuländar Kamp 1, D-21079 Hamburg, Germany. (Pārtikas drošības, dzīvnieku veselības un vides zinātniskais institūts „BIOR”, Lejupes 3, Ryga, LV-1076 Latvia).
• Laborator Schleswing-Holstein (Labensmittel-,Veterinar und Umweltuntersuchungsamt). Max-Eyth-Str. 5, 24537 Neumünster, Germany.
• RIKILT, P.O. Box 20, 6700 AE Wageningen, The Netherlands.
• GALAB laboratories GmbH. Am Schleusengraben 7, 21029 Hamburg, Germany.
• Fera Science Ltd. (Fera), National Agri-Food Innovation, Campus Sand Hutton York, YO41 1LZ United Kingdom

Official Competence:
State Food and Veterinary Service (SFVS) authorized National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment

Surveillance of foodborne diseases and monitoring of food contamination

National surveillance systems – foodborne disease in humans

The Centre for Communicable Diseases and AIDS under the Ministry of Health is in place to collect data on foodborne disease in humans
There is a case-based system of epidemiological surveillance of priority foodborne communicable diseases in Lithuania.
The epidemiological surveillance system for communicable diseases is regulated by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases of humans No. I-1553 and the Ministrie’s of Health of the Republic of Lithuania order No 673 (December 24, 2002) and other legal acts. Since the beginning of 2011 there is functioning a state information system for communicable diseases and their agents (SISCDA).
The Mission of the Centre for Communicable Diseases and AIDS is organization and implementation of prevention and control of communicable diseases to reduce morbidity, mortality and disability of the Lithuanian population. The Centre pursues its mission by following reference points of the Parliament, Government and Ministry of Health of the Republic of Lithuania, EU institutions, and WHO. Its puts into practice governmental policy of communicable disease control and management, organizes and implements vaccination of Lithuanian population, masters governmental information system of the communicable diseases and their agents, provides personal (immunoprophylaxis) and public health care services, exercises informal education
The data of foodborne disease in humans is available in webside http://www.ulac.lt/lt/ataskaitos

National monitoring systems – foodborne hazards in the food chain

The official food control is carried out by SFVS and is taking into account investigation data of outbreaks of foodborne diseases.