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.
Burkina Faso launched its Codex Trust Fund 2 project in a workshop held on 12 October 2018 with the participation of different sectors involved in food safety and nutrition representing governmental and non-governmental structures, civil society as well as technical and financial partners. The country is now among the eight African countries to benefit from the Codex Trust Fund 2, following a call for applications. The project that will be implemented for three years, from 2018 to 2021, is intended [...]
A workshop organised by the European Union "Better Training for Safer Food" initiative took place in September 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa, for the Codex members of the African Region. The aim of the workshop was to provide the necessary tools to be effective delegates in Codex.
In line with the strong and positive message of Jean-Claude Juncker President of the European Commission, Barbara Moretti, of the EU Codex Team, said that this was also an excellent opportunity to reinforce cooperation and [...]
Experts from six African countries attended a workshop in Nairobi, Kenya earlier this year, to build national capacity on foresight related to food safety and ultimately to launch a process to better identify and prepare for food safety issues.
The workshop, designed by FAO familiarized participants with foresight techniques that will enable them to reflect on the changing nature of food safety within food systems and support the identification of emerging food safety issues in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania and [...]
Kampala, Uganda 7 June 2018
Speaking at the national stakeholders meeting for players in the meat value chain, at the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), as part of the celebrations to mark support for a World Food Safety Day, former chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Ms Awilo Ochieng Pernet, commended UNBS for its work in ensuring compliance to food safety standards and called on sector players to ensure compliance to standards.
“Food safety must be on the political agenda because [...]
A workshop held 11-12 April 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya is providing participants from COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) with a science-based approach for risk assessment and management of mycotoxins.
Mycotoxin contamination of food commodities poses major challenges to both public health and trade. While it remains a global problem, this is particularly relevant in some regions of the world where dietary exposure to mycotoxins is still unacceptably high. Effective national and regional programmes for reducing mycotoxins contamination require [...]
In October 2017 Steve Mambu, Laboratory Director at the National Standards Laboratory in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry spoke about the launch of the National Codex Committee in Liberia.
At a recent Codex workshop in Nairobi we caught up with Steve again and asked him for an update on progress.
In Liberia food standards are key to facilitating trade.
Steve: As a result of the assessment of the food safety situation in Liberia, it was recommended we establish a food law. So I can tell you we [...]
https://youtu.be/T4JoRWku43c
The two-day Regional Technical Workshop for National Codex Contact Points held in Nairobi, Kenya 6-7 February 2018 brought together participants from close to 25 African countries. Staff from the Codex Secretariat delivered a training course to help staff working in national Codex systems participate in the Codex international standard-setting environment. Participants learnt how to navigate the new Codex website and worked with online web tools such as the Online Registration System (ORS); the Online Commenting System (OCS); and the Digital platform [...]
A two-day Regional Technical Workshop for National Codex Contact Points has concluded in Kenya's capital Nairobi, bringing together participants from close to 25 African countries, with the majority working within the areas of food safety and international standards. The workshop supported skills and knowledge development to increase practical capacity and ability of staff working in national Codex systems and to facilitate their successful operation in the Codex international standard-setting environment. This is through the use of electronic tools, such as [...]
Every country needs a good policy on food safety legislation.
Liberia launched its National Codex Committee in August of this year in what the Director of County Health Services in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Cuallau Jabbeh Howe described as a 'collective effort'. “Every country needs a good policy on food safety legislation, and the Ministry of Health is working in that direction, because we are charged with the responsibility of protecting our citizens in our borders. There is an urgent [...]
Experts meet in Kampala to discuss standards for fresh fruits and vegetables
Kampala, 2nd October 2017 – Experts in food and agriculture sector are meeting in Kampala for a week to discuss standards for fresh fruits and vegetables including garlic, potatoes and eggplants, kiwi fruits and fresh dates.
Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
This session of the Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (CCFFV) is co-hosted by the Government of Uganda together with the Government of Mexico.
Speaking at the opening [...]
