1. Authorities

General Foods
Bolivia

This section provides an overview of the Authorities involved in setting regulations and managing compliance with the food product in scope.

1) National Agricultural Health Service and Food Safety (SENASAG) [1]

The operational structure of the Ministry of Rural Development and Lands, it is the national authority competent in matters of Agricultural Health and Food Safety:

I. Plant Health: protect, prevent, eradicate pests, and improve the phytosanitary condition through the establishment of phytosanitary measures, registration, control, management, and use of agricultural inputs within the framework of good agricultural practices.

II. Animal Health: prevent, control, diagnose, and eradicate diseases that affect terrestrial and aquatic animals and public health, through sanitary measures that regulate primary production, good livestock practices, and the registration, management, and use of livestock inputs for use in animals.

III. Food Safety: Guarantee food safety in the productive and processing stages, regulating good practices in primary production and transformation, import, manufacturing, fractionation, marketing, registration, and surveillance.

2) Food and Nutrition Unit – General Directorate of Health Promotion and Prevention [2]

A unit under the Ministry of Health and Sports in Bolivia is responsible for developing and implementing regulations and guidelines to prevent and contain the spread of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). This unit also promotes and coordinates strategic actions to reduce malnutrition due to both excess (overweight and obesity) and nutrient deficiencies (undernutrition).

Additionally, it formulates and implements technical nutritional guidelines for food and nutrition programs, focusing on fortification and promoting healthy eating. It collaborates with the National Micronutrient Laboratories Network and the Official Food Analysis Laboratories Network to oversee the monitoring and control of food and beverages.

3) General Directorate of Biodiversity and Protected Areas [3]

The Ministry of Environment and Water, through the General Directorate of Biodiversity and Protected Areas, prepares, updates, and communicates semi-annually to the respective Supervisory Authorities, the List of Genetically Modified Organisms subject to labeling and authorized at a national or international level for production and use as human and animal food, for inclusion in Annex No. 3 and Annex No. 4 of the Technical Regulations for the Labeling of Foods and Products Intended for Human Consumption That Are, Contain or Derived from Organisms Genetically Modified.

4) Institute Of Standardization And Quality – IBNORCA [4]

Full Member ISO, Member of the Mercosur Standardization Association (AMN), Member of the Pan American Commission for Technical Standards (COPANT), IBNORCA has two fundamental pillars of quality: Technical Standardization, developing Bolivian standards of voluntary compliance (with the exception of those that become mandatory by laws, decrees or regulations) and Quality Certification. 

1.1 References

1. National Agricultural Health Service and Food Safety (SENASAG) - Ministry of Rural Development and Lands

https://www.senasag.gob.bo/index.php

2. Food and Nutrition Unit – General Directorate of Health Promotion and Prevention – Ministry of Health and Sports

https://www.minsalud.gob.bo/1676-unidad-de-alimentacion-y-nutricion

3. General Directorate of Biodiversity and Protected Areas – Ministry of Environment and Water

https://www.mmaya.gob.bo/viceministerios/viceministerio-de-medio-ambiente-biodiversidad-cambios-climaticos-y-gestion-y-desarrollo-forestal/direcciones/direccion-general-de-biodiversidad-y-areas-protegidas/

4. Institute Of Standardization And Quality – IBNORCA

https://www.ibnorca.org/es