8 December 2005
The side event took place on 8 December 2005. It was attended by more than 50 participants from 26 countries, of which 8 Caribbean and 18 Latin American. Its purpose was to discuss issues concerning feed and food safety and practical ways for governments, industry and producers to implement the recommendations of the recently approved Codex Alimentarius codes of practices for livestock products and animal feeding. During the meeting, speakers provided information on FAO activities on Veterinary Public Health (VPH) and on FAO and the private sector efforts for the implementation of the new Codex Codes of Practices. The meeting also aimed at identifying and defining capacity building, institutional development and training needs in the region.
Mr O. Ramírez, from the FAO Representation in Costa Rica opened the event with a welcome address and an introduction. Subsequently, the following presentations were delivered: FAO activities on VPH and capacity building for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) prevention and control (M. Vargas Terán, FAO Animal Health Officer); The new Codex Alimentarius Codes of Practices for livestock products and animal feeding (D. Battaglia, FAO Animal Production Officer); The role and contribution of the International Dairy Federation (IDF) in promoting dairy safety and hygiene in emerging and developing countries (C. Robert, Director General IDF); The International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF): implementing the new Codex Code of Practice for Good Animal Feeding (S. Auman, IFIF); The role of national and regional feed industry associations (N. Chachamovitz, Vice-President Sindirações, Brazilian Feed Industry Association).
A facilitated session followed the presentations. It aimed at gathering participants' points of view on the following two questions: “What are the main limiting factors for the implementation of the Codex codes in your country?” and “How would you ensure that medium and small producers/ enterprises could also take part in the process and implement the recommendations of those codes?”. An extensive and positive discussion took place with numerous and articulated responses which took into account a wide range of aspects. They mainly indicated the need for: adequate legislation, especially on animal feed; increased concertation and coordination of all the stakeholders along the food chain and among international agencies and bodies; enhancement of information spreading and awareness building especially addressing small producers; institutional development, e.g. support to the creation of producers associations, especially for medium and small producers; training programmes for regulators and producers.
