During the meeting the representatives of the LEPLs introduced the initial version of the project developed on the basis of a thematic inquiry conducted by the Committee on Air Pollution from Lead.

In 2020, the Committee of the IX Term Parliament convened a thematic inquiry, on the basis of which the National Food Agency and the Agricultural Research Center of the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture of Georgia, as well as the National Statistics Office of Georgia prepared the project "National Dietary and Nutrition Survey in Georgia: The First Step - To Increase the Capacity for Quantitative Assessment of Food Risks".

The study, which is scheduled to be conducted in 2021-2024, aims to provide a quantitative assessment of food, including lead, risks in Georgia by studying the actual nutrition of individual food consumption by different groups of the population.

The survey covers both Tbilisi and 10 regions of Georgia and involves a total of 4,000 informants who will be subject to ongoing monitoring. Also, soil, air and water samples will be appraised and laboratory tests will be performed to determine if contaminants are found in the human body from these sources.

"The purpose of today's session is to understand where we actually are, why this issue is relevant and what gives us the basis to justify the expediency of conducting the inquiry. There is often unsubstantiated and unverified information that food intended for humans contains excessive amounts of various heavy metals and poses a threat to the population, which is not confirmed by the verification. However, as there are doubts in the society, it is important that all the questions are answered through the inquiry”, - Khatia Tsilosani stated.