2005
i. System for the control of food quality and safety
The control of food quality and safety in Algeria is carried out under the authorities of several ministerial departments, such as the Ministry of Agriculture (control of products of animal origin, plant health, etc), Ministry of Industry and its Algerian Institute of Standardization, establishing quality and safety standards for foods, and the Ministry of Commerce.
Within this governmental structure, the Ministry of Commerce occupies a central position because the mission given to it in the fields of consumer protection, surveillance of fair commerce and practices and promotion of food quality. To carry out its work, the Ministry of Commerce has adopted the following structure. At the Central level the Directorate for the control of quality carries out investigations and quality control activities (products offered to consumers and products for import or export) and the Directorate for the quality and consumers implements and coordinates legislation and regulations related to the safety and quality of food products. At the regional local level, there are Regional and Departmental Directorates of Control. At the intermediate level the Algerian Centre for the Control of Quality and Packaging is responsible for ensuring appropriate operations of the laboratory networks for the quality control and prevention of fraudulent practices (19 laboratories covering all the territory, of which 4 have regional roles).
ii. Legislation
The laws regarding the control of foods include: Law on the general rules of consumer protection (this Law is under revision to ensure consistency with the WTO rules); Law on veterinary public health; and Law on standardization.
iii. National Codex Alimentarius Committee
A draft decree on the creation of a National Codex Committee was adopted by the Government and is being published in the official gazette. The new Codex Contact Point will be operational before March 2005. In addition, work is ongoing to bring Algerian laws and regulations into conformity with the provisions of WTO SPS and TBT Agreements in view of the accession.
Algeria will shortly establish its National Codex Alimentarius Committee (the decree to this effect is under publication in the official gazette). It is foreseen that representatives of consumer associations will become members of this Committee. Consumer associations are also invited to participate in the regulatory and standardizing work on food products (these associations participate in the work on national committees on standardization).
Furthermore, in the framework of the reform of legislation on consumer protection, it is foreseen that a National Council on Consumption, which essentially regroups consumer and professional associations.
This new organ will formulate views on: national policy in the area of quality and consumer protection; draft technical regulations; and draft standards.
2003
EU Veterinary Reports.
See: http://ec.europa.eu/food/fs/inspections/vi/reports/algeria/index_en.html
(Covers Fishery Products and Bivalve Molluscs).
Information last updated - January 2007