Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of t : Israel has successfully passed the European Union’s milk industry inspection

Representatives of the European Union finished, in the past few days, a comprehensive inspection of the quality assurance systems in place to monitor the milk and milk substitute industry in Israel.

The inspection is part of the approval awarded by the European Union to Israel for the export of animal based products (primarily for the kosher market) to the Union's member countries.  The period between inspections is decided according to the results of the previous inspection and is facilitated with the cooperation of the country being inspected and its level of transparency.  The maximum period between inspections is four years.

The last inspection carried out by representatives of the European Union was four years ago in 2009.  Following the 2009 inspection Israel was awarded an exceptionally high grade and, as a result, was exempt from further inspections for the maximum period of four years.

The aim of the inspection is to see if the Ministry of Agriculture's veterinary services do, in fact, implement and enforce the conditions required for export to European Union member states.  During the inspection process the entire chain of production for milk and milk products is inspected, from the milk parlor all the way to the consumer's table.