The ‘Coordinating Committee for Africa’ was established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 1972 with a mandate to “exercise general coordination in the preparation of standards relating to the region of Africa”. The committee held its first meeting at FAO in 1974, with 19 countries in attendance.
As the new regional coordinator begins their term, the Agreement of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which came into effect in May 2020, has reinforced the need for an efficient and effective system for managing sanitary and phytosanitary measures, in particular food safety, across the continent as its borders open for trade.
The regional coordinator is based in the Uganda National Bureau of Standards, a statutory body under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Co-operatives which oversees, as part of its mandate, the promotion and use of standards.
As regional coordinator, Uganda intends to engage closely with countries via surveys, webinars and workshops to identify needs and emerging issues, create awareness of priority food safety issues and of Codex standards. A pilot study will also explore the food safety situation in broader terms across the region. By strengthening engagement with regional bodies such as the African Union, the African Organisation for Standardisation and the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, Uganda also aims to enhance advocacy work in the region.
“On June 7 we celebrate World Food Safety Day, because every person has a right to safe food for a nutritious and healthy diet.
However, each year, 91 million people in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from acute food-borne illness and 137,000 sadly lose their lives.”
These were the opening words of the video message WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, recorded for World Food Safety Day.
Watch the video.
In the context of World Food Safety Day celebrations in Angola, FAO - together with WHO, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Social Action, Family and Women Empowerment - launched an awareness campaign about food safety.
Messages focused on the need for salespeople to apply good hygiene practices and handle food with clean hands, as well as the need to display products on clean surfaces. Consumers, on the other hand, are advised to wash their food well [...]
TV news report from Senegal (in French) on the celebrations for World Food Safety Day.
Radiodiffusion Télévision Sénégalaise: http://live.rts.sn/home/player/11859
In early June 2020, the Afrotropic Cocoa Processing Company Ltd in Accra, Ghana marked World Food Safety Day with a series of initiatives. All workers were reminded of issues that could bring about food safety problems or foodborne illness. This information was conveyed through pep talks at the start of every shift as well as the use of visuals, which included a poster on the ’Ten Golden Rules of Food Safety’ and the 2020 FAO/WHO campaign materials.
WFSD in grand style [...]
To commemorate World Food Safety Day, the Independent Health Regulatory Entity (ERIS), the Chamber of Commerce (CCISS), the representation of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Cabo Verde and the Association for the Defense of Consumers (ADECO), met with the press to highlight the theme of the celebration: "Food safety, everyone's responsibility".
Read the full story in Portuguese: https://www.eris.cv/index.php/noticias/1630-eris-e-parceiros-assinalam-dia-mundial-da-seguranca-sanitaria-dos-alimentos
Dr Adelheid Onyango, Regional Nutrition Advisor, WHO Office for the Region of African explains the importance of food safety in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. Dr Onyango tells us the significance of World Food Safety Day celebrated last week and everyone’s role in ensuring food safety and its implication for good health for all. She underlines the importance of markets as a critical social place in this region and the challenges faced to ensure the provision of safe and healthy food [...]
A 1.5-hour talk about ‘No food security without food safety’ on YouTube, moderated by Charles Katsande of FoodBev International Consulting Pty Ltd, saw the participation of 92 people on 5 June 2020. Organized by the South Africa-based organization, the event connected people from many parts of the world including various countries in Africa and Europe as well as Australia, Canada, India and the United States.
A sub-theme of ‘know food safety, no harm’ was also developed.
The panel of five experts each [...]
Blaise Ouattara, Food Safety and Quality Officer at the FAO Regional Office for Africa, answers questions from an RFI reporter to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on food safety and the challenges ahead. He also explains the positive effects of the pandemic, particularly in terms of hygiene measures and stresses the importance of practicing the WHO Five Keys to safer food.
Listen to the podcast on: http://rfi.my/61Kl.W
Fred Kafeero, FAO Representative to Tanzania and Tigest Ketsela Mengestu, the WHO representative report from Tanzania on how important food safety is in the country.
Kafeero highlights the role street vendors play and FAO's work to ensure their products are safe and nutritious, while Tigest Ketsela Mengestu reinforces the World Food Safety Day key message that food safety is everyone's business if we are to contribute positively to public health, trade, employment and poverty alleviation.
To mark World Food Safety Day, which is celebrated on 7 June, a press conference will take place on 8 June 2020 at 10 am at the University of Santiago - Campus da Praia (School of Technologies and Management), located at the São José Seminary, Prainha - Praia.
This event aims to clarify for the audience the main aspects of the responsibility for food safety shared by the government / authorities, economic operators and consumers to ensure food safety in the [...]
