State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection (SSUFSCP), with the support of the Swiss-Ukrainian Programme “Higher Value Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine” (QFTP), continues to systematically improve the system of official control in the field of milk and dairy product safety and to facilitate Ukraine’s progress towards membership of the European Union.
One of the key elements of this process is the training of specialists from the competent authority who will be able to effectively assess the establishments of food business operators (FBO) for compliance with EU requirements and subsequently pass on their knowledge and practical experience to colleagues in the regions. It was with this aim in mind that a regional training course on “Specifics of conducting official control measures to assess the compliance of dairy processing establishments with EU requirements” took place in Ternopil from 28 June to 1 July 2026.
The event was attended by 10 specialists from the central office of the SSUFSCP and the Main Administrations of the SSUFSCP in Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Rivne regions.
A distinctive feature of the training was that it was not a traditional theoretical course. Instead, it served as a practical assessment of the readiness of previously trained trainer-inspectors, who had successfully completed all stages of the training programme, to independently assess dairy processing establishments for compliance with EU requirements. At the same time, the training contributed to further strengthening the professional knowledge and competencies of the other participants.
During the opening session, Anatoliy Gamza, Deputy Director of the Department – Head of the Directorate for State Control and Registration of Business Operators of the Department of Food Safety and Veterinary Medicine of the SSUFSCP, thanked Switzerland and the QFTP experts for their support in organising the event. He noted that the training provides an opportunity for the SSUFSCP to put into practice approaches to training specialists who may in future be assigned to assess the capabilities of FBO for compliance with EU requirements, and for regional specialists to gain new knowledge, practical experience and answers to relevant questions.
Trainer-inspectors Ivan Vaskiv (Main Administration of the SSUFSCP in the Ivano-Frankivsk region) and Romana Smulka (Main Administration of the SSUFSCP in the Ternopil region) provided a practical demonstration of all stages involved in assessing the dairy processing establishments of PJSC “Ternopil Dairy Plant” for compliance with EU requirements, including preparation for the inspection, as well as documentary and physical checks of the establishments. Following the completion of the inspection, the trainer-inspectors presented the results, discussed the non-compliances identified, assessed their severity and formulated recommendations for corrective actions.
This regional training course was a logical continuation of the systematic work to prepare specialists from the SSUFSCPto assess dairy processing establishments for compliance with EU requirements. The previous stage was a training-of-trainers course conducted by QFTP in 2024, during which specialists from the SSUFSCP, selected according to specific criteria, underwent in-depth theoretical and practical training necessary for the subsequent dissemination of knowledge amongst their colleagues in the regions. For more details on the training, please follow the link.
During the event, video recordings of simulated inspections of dairy processing establishments were conducted, and these recordings were subsequently used to produce training videos for the SSUFSCP’s distance learning platform.
Before the regional training began, all participants studied these materials independently, which made it possible to focus the event on the practical application of knowledge and skills. During the simulated inspection exercise, participants had the opportunity to observe the work of the trainer-inspectors, analyse their approach, and further strengthen their own practical inspection skills.
During the final session of the regional training, there was a discussion of the results of the simulated inspection, an assessment of the readiness of the trainer-inspectors to carry out similar official control measures, and the provision of detailed feedback on the strengths of their work and areas for further professional development.
The training marked an important step in strengthening the capacity of the SSUFSCP to assess FBOs’ establishments for compliance with EU requirements. The experience gained will be used to further improve inspector training approaches and to promote a consistent and harmonised implementation of official controls throughout Ukraine.
Experts from the SSUFSCP and the QFTP team would like to express their sincere gratitude to the management and specialists of the Main Administration of the SSUFSCP in the Ternopil region, as well as to the management and staff of PJSC “Ternopil Dairy Plant” for their assistance in organising and conducting the event.
The event was organised with the support of Switzerland within the framework of the Swiss-Ukrainian Programme “Higher Value Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine” (QFTP), implemented by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL, Switzerland) in partnership with SAFOSO AG (Switzerland).
