Promoting safe produce and quality in Samoa
The Samoa Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are partnering to promote fresh produce safety and quality in Samoa.
Consumers have a right to expect that the foods purchased and consumed will be safe and of high quality. Consumers should also have a right to voice their opinions about the food control procedures, standards and activities that governments and industry use to ascertain that the food supply has these characteristics.
To raise awareness of fresh produce safety and quality in Samoa, FAO and the Samoa Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc are offering a training workshop in Apia from July 15 and 16 on fresh produce safety and quality in Samoa.
Samoa Chamber of Commerce and Industry President, Tuala Pat Leota officially opened the workshop. “Global standards on food, health and quality systems are critically important. Building the capacity of all stakeholders in quality control and standards is the main priority of this workshop”.
“The Samoa Chamber of Commerce again thanks the FAO for this opportunity to provide training and capacity building for members of the Private and Public Sector, and a Forum to address issues around food and quality safety”. Said Tuala.
FAO Subregional Coordinator for the Pacific Islands, Gavin Wall delivered the opening address. “The core theme of this event is the safety and quality of fresh produce along supply chains in Samoa. This theme goes to the heart of two important parts of the work of FAO and they are food safety and food losses and wastes”.
“In 2008 FAO released a study of global food losses which found that 30% of all food was either lost or wasted. The concern with food which is lost and wasted is not only limited to the food itself; food which is lost and wasted also represents a loss of energy, nutrients and water that could have been used elsewhere in the global economy.”
In January 2015 FAO and the Samoa Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed a Letter of Agreement to undertake an ‘Investment into agriculture value chains’project throughout 2015. In April, Samoa Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc and FAO hosted a workshop on contract farming.