MESSAGES
2006-11
Legislation and Standards for Safer New Year's Celebrations
Consumers can
avoid many unnecessary, unfortunate or bad purchases if they are
well-informed and pay attention to different signs, symbols and marks
indicating that the product offered for sale fulfils at least the minimum
safety requirements prescribed by European and national legislation. But
to understand properly the meaning of these indications, consumers should
have some knowledge about the technical legislation in Europe and the role
of standards in ensuring safety and protecting the health of consumers.
They should also know what to do in case of products for which there are
no special statutory requirements and who is responsible for their safety.
The article provides practical information for consumers and substantiates
it with examples of most-sold products during the Christmas and New Year
period.
Regulations Concerning Explosives for Civil Use
In Slovenia,
the field of explosives for civil use is regulated by the Explosive
substances act which implements directive 93/15/EEC concerning the placing
on the market and supervision of explosives for civil uses into Slovenia’s
legal system. In addition, this act also regulates pyrotechnical materials
and articles that are not covered by the directive. The article gives an
overview of the legislation and standards concerning explosives and
powders as well as pyrotechnical materials and products. The field of
explosives for civil use in Slovenia is regulated in a similar way as in
other European countries but taking account of our own past experience and
specific requirements. The present situation in the field of safety of
explosives requires beside restrictive measures also activities such as
penalizing in case of infringements and preventive activities such as
awareness-strengthening and education of young people.
Explosives - Explosive Substances
The article
describes explosive substances and products that present a danger to the
surroundings, especially if used incorrectly. It also explains the main
types of explosives and their classification on basis of their structure,
application, chemical, physical, thermo-chemical and explosive properties.
Readers will also learn about when explosive substances and their mixtures
can be used for military purposes and which conditions they must fulfil
when they are used in the industrial sector.
MESSAGES
2006-10
Traceability in the Food Chain
The term
foodstuff usually means products which go through different phases before
being finally ready for use. To make sure that these products are of good
quality, safe and healthy when bought in a supermarket or consumed in a
restaurant, all the participants in the food chain must record and keep
all relevant data on their products, especially those concerning safety
aspects. This completeness of the information about every step in a
process chain is called traceability and in the food sector, traceability
is prescribed by Regulation No. 178/2000, according to which all actors in
the food chain have to ensure traceability of foodstuff in all phases of
production, processing and distribution. It is required that all the
necessary measures are carried out to ensure that any person supplying
foodstuff, feedstuff or animals used for food or feed production can be
traced and identified. The legislation also provides that foodstuff
business operators putting foodstuff on the market are responsible for the
product's safety. If unhealthy or unsafe food products are detected on the
market, the responsible food business operator must immediately recall
them from the market.international trade on the internet portal »Export
Window« (orig. »Izvozno okno«, www.izvoznookno.si
http://www.izvoznookno.si, by promoting business opportunities
(information on countries, economy, exports, imports, customs duties,
sales, fairs, etc.) and representative offices of Slovenian companies
abroad, and by implementing the TRIM project, the purpose of which is to
train representatives of Slovenian companies in the field of international
business.
ISO 22000:2005 also in Slovenian
Standard SIST
EN ISO 22000 Food safety management systems - Requirements for any
organization in the food chain was first adopted in English in 2005. Due
to its importance and a strong interest from the professional public, the
standard has been translated and is now available also in Slovenian. The
requirements in ISO 22000 are similar to those in ISO 9001:2000, because
its authors prepared it in line with the famous ISO 9001 focusing mainly
on aspects concerning foodstuff safety. There are several novelties in ISO
22000, and the article highlights the most prominent ones. It also gives
explanations of some terminology-related decisions taken by SIST/TC K®P
when preparing the translation.
About the European "From Farm to Fork" Strategy
After different
crises in the field of foodstuff in the 1990s, the European Commission
adopted a series of new measures based on expert evaluations and extensive
scientific research that should improve the safety of foodstuff and help
recover consumer confidence. The European "From Farm to Fork" strategy is
built on three pillars: legislation on safety of food and feed, decisions
based on scientific opinion, and implementation and monitoring. With the
new regulations in force since January 1st 2006, the control procedures in
the food sector will be simplified throughout Europe and more attention
will be paid to health risks. The European Commission will follow closely
whether the EU governments use their control systems effectively.
Basic Requirements for Foodstuff Safety
Nowadays, the
concern for people's health is one of the main goals in developed
countries. Preservation and strengthening of health are closely connected
with healthy lifestyle. Protection of consumers against risks to their
health resulting from unhealthy nutritional habits and methods to achieve
this are two main elelments of the national nutrition policies. Slovenia
has already adopted the Resolution on the national nutrition policy
programme for 2005-2010 (OJ RS, No. 39/2005) the main goal of which is to
improve, protect and preserve health and quality of life of the
population. The Resolution also aims at ensuring safety of food throughout
the food chain, promotion, preservation and strengthening of healthy
nutritional habits among the people and sufficient supply of good quality
and safety of food.
MESSAGES 2006-9
Services for Slovenian Exporters
With the policy
of internationalizing Slovenian companies, the Slovenian government wishes
to improve the competitiveness of Slovenian economy on the international
market, in particular small and medium size enterprises. The aim is to
provide them with different forms of important information, and thus
facilitate their access to new markets and reduce commercial risks related
to external operations. The article presents the Public Agency for
Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investments (orig. Javna agencija za
podjetni¹tvo in tuje investicije or JAPTI) whose mission is to support and
internationalize Slovenian companies by providing them with information
regarding international trade on the internet portal »Export Window«
(orig. »Izvozno okno«, www.izvoznookno.si <http://www.izvoznookno.si>), by
promoting business opportunities (information on countries, economy,
exports, imports, customs duties, sales, fairs, etc.) and representative
offices of Slovenian companies abroad, and by implementing the TRIM
project, the purpose of which is to train representatives of Slovenian
companies in the field of international business.
Programme "Introducing Business Excellence in Slovenian
Companies"
In cooperation
with its partners, the Public Agency for Entrepreneurship and Foreign
Investments (orig. Javna agencija za podjetni¹tvo in tuje investicije or
JAPTI) started with the implementation of a programme called "Introducing
Business Excellence in Slovenian Companies". This long-term project is
part of the governmental programme of measures for the promotion of
entrepreneurship and competiteveness. Its purpose is to encourage
Slovenian companies to implement the EFQM model in their business
processes and thus achieve a greater level of competitiveness on the
market. For a start, a conference was organized in April for local
business centres, regional chambers of craft and regional chambers of
commerce and industry. After that, a group of 170 Slovenian companies
attended the seminar on the use of the EFQM excellence model for business
improvement that followed in May. The implementation of the programme will
continue also in the future, with the training of a pilot group of 13
companies and 12 company advisers - specialists. The Business Excellence
Prize of the Republic of Slovenia (orig. Priznanje Republike Slovenije za
Poslovno Odličnost or PRSPO), which is the highest national award for
achievements in the field of quality of products and/or services and
business performance in Slovenia and is awarded to the best Slovenian
companies every year, also fits within the framework of the programme. The
EFQM excellence model is a tried and tested tool used by different
organizations in a number of different ways. The article presents
companies and their reasons for joining the programme.
Promoting Craft and SMEs in the Area of European
Standardisation
In February
2006, the Chamber of Craft of Slovenia answered the EC's questionnaire on
the measures that contribute to the promotion of standardization among
small and medium size enterprises and craftsmen in our country. We are
proud to report that the measures and advisory activities of the Slovenian
Chamber of Craft were acknowledged as a good example that could be used by
other EU countries as an example of good practise. In the article, the
leader of the project at the Chamber fo Crafts emphasizes the benefits of
the measures they adopted, presents the target groups of the project,
describes the reactions of companies and speaks about the impact of the
measures on competitiveness and financial resources spent on the project.
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