The Sultanate of Oman celebrates World Food Safety Day “Food standards save lives” through a number of events, held from 10-14 June 2023. These events coincided with Oman’s Food Safety Week, and included holding Oman's 6th International Conference on Food Safety and Quality .

The event, which brought together specialists from Oman and around the world, focused on reviewing enablers of the food safety system. It also dealt with artificial intelligence, modern technologies, the management of food hazards and challenges in the field of food safety.

The Conference witnessed a remarkable participation not only from and the Food Safety and Quality Center of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, but also speakers from Sultan Qaboos University, Laval University and five international organizations.

The three-day conference, held at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, included 47  scholarly working papers, in addition to an exhibition focused on food safety and quality. Private sector companies and establishments contributed to the exhibition, which dedicated a corner to showcase food safety and quality innovations from university students.

The opening ceremony included a keynote lecture by the Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Dr Steve Wearne, who highlighted the importance of inclusive contribution in the development of international food standards by all jurisdictions and the way these standards may help address challenges of food systems transformation. This was also an occasion to highlight the 60th anniversary of Codex,

The conference was organized under the senior leadership of His Excellency Qais Mohammed Al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion and Dr Saud Hamoud Al Habsi, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources. It was attended by representatives of Arab and international organizations and ministry officials.

Prior to the conference, Muscat also hosted delegates from Arab Codex Contact Points (CCPs) and representatives of the Codex programme of 17 Arab nations, the Chair of Codex, and international scientific organizations from 10-11 June 2023. The two-day Arab Codex Colloquium was co-hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Water Resources in partnership with the Food Safety and Quality Center.

The colloquium allowed to review the outcomes of earlier meetings held by the main committees of the Codex Alimentarius, to shape the future direction of the Arab Codex initiative, to delineate future activities of  Arab Codex electronic working groups; and to discuss opportunities to establish a robust and harmonized food safety framework across the Arab region.

The colloquium was yet another occasion to highlight the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

Find out more
Watch a video made in Oman, about food standards
Watch a TV news report on the 6th Oman International Conference on Food Safety & Quality
Watch a Summary of the Second Arab Codex Colloquium 10-11 June 2023 - In Muscat - Sultanate of Oman

Photo © Oman Codex