Goodbye Aupsa, Hello APA

The Panamanian president approved the bill that creates the Agencia Panamena de Alimentos (Panamanian Food Agency) and repeals Decree Law 11 of 2006, which created the Panamanian Food Safety Authority.

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

The new law establishes that the constitutional competencies related to phytosanitary and zoosanitary measures return to the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA) with the objective of protecting the national agricultural patrimony, to the Ministry of Health the competencies related to food safety, the control of zoonoses and food-borne diseases (ETA), while the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, the one related to Copanit technical standards and the administration of compliance with international trade agreements, details an official statement.

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According to the Presidency of Panama "... the present norm applies to raw materials, products and by-products of animal, vegetable and mineral origin for food use, nationals or importers, in transit and transshipment, applicable to industrial and agro-industrial production, export and import of food."

The statement adds that in this way, the constitutional competences return to these institutions, which are also included in Law 23 of July 15, 1997, by which our country adhered to the World Trade Organization.

The Panamanian Food Agency (APA) is only an entity for procedures and its functions are clearly established in the new legislation, informed the authorities.

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