Israel and the EU have launched a joint project to unify quality assurance procedures for veterinary standards in the field of animal-based products. The project, dubbed SIVIA, promotes cooperation and information share between experts in Italy and their Israeli counterparts in the ministry of agricultural and rural development. Related stories: Israel, India to expand agricultural ties Israeli companies discover South Sudan According to the Agriculture Ministry's website, ensuring that Israeli quality assurance procedures match the European one swill expand Israeli exports of meat, poultry and dairy products to the EU and other foreign markets. A second objective is to unify veterinary information systems to improve the tracking of origin, nutrition and diseases in animals, and improve response time in crises. The project aims to match the Israeli quality standards in veterinary supervision to the EU standard through the harmonization of procedures. It will also include special training workshops in Israel and Italy, to match Israeli legislation and regulations the EU. Within the framework of SIVIA, Dr. Federigo G. Santini, a guest consultant, will work with the veterinarian services in Israel for 18 month, and oversee the project with Sr. Boris Yakobson, manager of the Veterinarian Institute in Israel, and the CEO of livestock health unit in Italy. Several more Italian scientists are expected to take part in the project as well. The EU participates in the funding of the project to the amount of one million Euros. The project, one of many joint endeavors to Israel and EU, was launched in February, in the presence of ministers, diplomats and scientists. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter