The food industry in Bulgaria continues to be synonymous with quality and responsibility, says Dr. Svetla Chamova

This year, the Union of Food Industry (SHP) celebrates 58 years since its establishment and to some extent is a mirror of the economic life in the country. This was said by the President of the Union, Dr. Svetla Chamova, during the traditional Day of the Food Industry in Bulgaria and the 20th Anniversary Scientific-Practical Conference on “The Food Industry in Bulgaria – Present and Future”, which are being held at the Park Hotel “Moscow”, Sofia. The organizer of the events is SHP.

“We can proudly report that behind us are thousands of trained specialists in the industry, hundreds of held seminars, round tables, business forums, discussion forums, conferences, trainings and others,” she pointed out. According to her, the food industry in Bulgaria continues to be synonymous with quality and responsibility. Many of the enterprises in the food industry follow more rules for hygiene and health of people even than hospitals, said Dr. Chamova.

She also said that in food production, the owners and managers of the enterprises are representatives of the responsible business in the country.

Dr. Chamova emphasized that they have 42 different professions in which they train people. Only in the first 10 months of this year, SHP conducted 16 professional qualification courses, 80 people received diplomas. “During this period, we also had 5 internal audit trainings, where 39 people passed. This year, for the first time, two trainings on packaging were also held. We trained another 20 people on sensory analysis and tasting of food and beverages,” added the chairman of the SHP .

According to her, there is a lack of good marketing and advertising, so this is one of the directions in which they should work.

“One of the things we have to do is to really unite the agri-food chain from the field to the table and not consider agriculture separately, because they are inextricably linked,” recalled the Minister of Agriculture and Food Kiril Vatev of his position.

According to him, we compete on a common market, which is dominated by powerful cooperatives, and we do not have such in Bulgaria. “If we have to be optimistic, we have to be determined to make cooperatives from the field to the table,” Vatev said.

He opined that the supply of native foods would increase if a food trade law, which the ministry is working hard on, is passed. Another thing that needs to be implemented quickly is for science to enter practice, for universities and specialized schools to increase their practical activities, Vatev believes.

“My dream is for Bulgaria to become a leading European market leader, but this is a way of thinking, not only a business,” concluded the Minister of Agriculture.