The Hungarian people consider food chain safety to be one of the most important areas of expertise, and they are extremely satisfied with its performance – explained the results of a representative public opinion survey last fall. Beáta Olga Felkai, Deputy State Secretary responsible for food chain supervision at the Ministry of Agriculture.

Beáta Olga Felkai emphasized that more than 70% of people trust the work of the National Food Chain Safety Office (Nébih), whose quality is considered stable. The 2022 short summary of results of the organization established 11 years ago also supports the trust earned.

Dr. Beáta Olga Felkai, Deputy State Secretary responsible for food chain supervision Source: Kormany.hu

A representative survey of 1,000 people is conducted every six months on the general public’s perception of food chain safety. Among the results of the latest autumn 2022 research, the deputy state secretary highlighted that Hungarians consider food chain safety to be one of the most important areas of expertise, along with health care and disaster prevention, with the performance of which they are highly satisfied, ranking it in second place after disaster prevention. According to the survey, 71% of residents trust the work of Nébih, which is the 3rd best result after the Ambulance Service and Disaster Management, and is considered the best among classic supervisory bodies.

Hungarians are still committed to domestic products: 43% of respondents always, and 32% pay attention to buying Hungarian food for certain products. The members of the latter group consider the Hungarian origin to be most important in the case of vegetables, fruits, meat, milk and dairy products, explained Beáta Olga Felkai.

The Hungarian Food Book, which is a collection of quality rules, is known by more than 30%, while 51% of residents have heard of the Excellent Quality Food (KMÉ) trademark accepted as a national quality system.

Beáta Olga Felkai emphasized that it has always been extremely important for the government to provide the population with safe, high-quality food, which is based on the excellent work of domestic farmers and producers. At the EU level, Hungary was one of the first to introduce the food chain approach, Nébih, in public administration, and the “last link in the chain”, i.e. the free-to-call Nébih Green Number, was launched as a groundbreaking initiative to protect consumers. The office celebrated its 11th anniversary on March 15. Its success is also supported by the results of the survey: Hungarians not only know, but also trust the office, and feel that the quality of its work is stable.

Regarding Nébih’s most important achievements in 2022, the deputy state secretary explained that, in accordance with the chain approach, the organization can boast an extremely diverse and wide-ranging list of achievements. Picking out just a few examples, it can be said that last year we managed to not only slow down but also stop the spread of African swine fever (ASP) in the wild herd, in addition to the fact that the domestic pig herd remained protected from the disease. Nébih’s food chain safety testing laboratories performed almost 2 million tests on more than 167,000 samples, and the department specializing in fraud and the eradication of the black economy held 559 inspections, took action against 203 tons of products, and issued fines in 158 cases, totaling more than HUF 115 million.

Beáta Olga Felkai from the year’s summary highlighted the significant professional result that Hungary became free of the PRRS disease in pigs last year thanks to many years of persistent work. The fishermen of Nébih were able to transport 27 large carp back to their original habitat, in our natural waters. Of the wood confiscated by the EUTR inspectors, the office handed over 596 cubic meters, as well as more than 300 pieces of furniture and acacia columns, to municipalities, churches and non-profit organizations free of charge.

Among the IT developments, it is worth mentioning that, in order to increase the convenience of customers, online payment and full online authorization management were launched in the office’s Customer Profile system. In addition, almost 400,000 primary producers and the representatives of the primary producers’ family farms can manage their affairs on Nébih’s e-administration interface, with the administrative support of about 600 village farmers.

In addition to its official work, the office focuses primarily on helping both actors in the food chain and consumers, and expanding its knowledge. In this spirit, Nébih’s customer service received more than 120,000 inquiries, and in 2022, the “double quality guide” was completed for manufacturers, the “Safe Eating during Pregnancy” publication for the general public, while the specialists of the “Without Leftovers” program filled the gaps guide” was compiled – summed up Beáta Olga Felkai.

The extract of the research examining the public’s perception of food chain safety, as well as the 2022 results summary of Nébih, are available on the office’s website.

Press Office of the Ministry of Agriculture