The Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis decided to reject the new draft law aimed at fundamentally updating the regulatory and legal framework in the field of food safety, which has been in effect since 1997, on its first reading. This was reported by Upl.uz.
The draft law was not adopted due to unresolved disputes arising around the proposed formulations for designating products as unsuitable for children. As the authors of the project emphasized, the initiative was aimed at updating a nearly thirty-year-old outdated law and aligning national legislation with international requirements and standards.
This step is seen by experts as an important part of Uzbekistan's strategy to harmonize its regulatory environment with global norms. This is particularly important in the context of expanding export markets and the current trade relations, especially due to the focus on standardization issues within the framework of U.S. presidential policies.
The draft law clearly delineated the powers of state bodies in food product control and detailed the main directions of state policy. It also proposed the introduction of a system to ensure the traceability of products during storage, transportation, and delivery to consumers.
Special attention was given to participants in the food business – producers, processors, and distributors. Their rights and obligations were defined, and measures of responsibility for violations of the law were envisaged.
A proposal was made to create an open and transparent electronic registry as a monitoring tool, which would allow real-time tracking of food product circulation processes. This measure is based on the requirements of the World Trade Organization and the experience of advanced countries.
The draft law was aimed at reducing excessive bureaucratic procedures and promoting deregulation. If adopted, the mandatory registration of sanitary-epidemiological conclusions, veterinary certificates, and technical regulation agency certificates would be abolished.
Producers would have the right to use international terms such as "best before" and "use by" in addition to the traditional term "shelf life." However, the labeling section became the main obstacle to the draft law.
Deputies expressed strong criticism regarding the obligation to include the information "not recommended for minors" on product packaging and advertising. Ilhom Abdullayev, a member of the "National Revival" faction, emphasized that these formulations create legal ambiguity.
He pointed out that the concept of "school age" is not clearly defined in existing legislation, which leads to various interpretations of the term. He also noted that the term "marketing materials" is very general and could apply to a wide range of media, creating legal uncertainty for businesses.
As a result, the draft law did not receive the necessary majority of votes for adoption. Only 61 of the deputies present in the session supported it.
At the end of the meeting, it was instructed that the document be thoroughly revised, taking into account the opinions and proposals expressed during the discussions. The terms "best before" and "use by" do not replace each other.
"Use by" relates to product safety, and consuming the product after this date is considered dangerous. "Best before," on the other hand, relates to quality, indicating that the product may lose taste and texture characteristics after the specified date but remains safe for consumption.
This type of labeling was first introduced in 1970.
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