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.
Hakim Mufumbiro Codex Regional Coordinator for Africa
Partner States in the EAC - East African Community (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda) took part from 24 to 27 August 2021 in the 3rd extraordinary meeting of the EAC Codex Forum to specifically generate regional common positions in preparation to effectively participate in the 52nd Codex Committee on Food Additives, the 46th Codex Committee on Food Labelling and the 27th Codex Committee on Fats and Oils which are among the [...]
The Afrotropic Cocoa Processing company based in Accra, Ghana, exports its cocoa products to many countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Here, as for every other food outlet, food safety is of paramount importance and the company held a food safety quiz to celebrate World Food Safety Day this year and to remind employees of their food safety responsibilities.
Prizes were awarded to the teams that came 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the quiz, which was both fun and informative. [...]
The Codex Trust Fund Secretariat in collaboration with the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Africa (CCAFRICA) and the FAO and WHO Regional Offices for Africa held a highly engaging webinar on 5 July 2021 with a focus on the use of the FAO/WHO Diagnostic Tool for assessing status of National Codex Programmes. The Tool is key to determining strengths and weaknesses at country level and the results help identify areas for capacity development. Over 50 participants attended online both from CCAFRICA and [...]
Malawi joined the global campaign in the commemoration of the World Food Safety Day on 7th June 2021. The Ministry of Health in collaboration with the National Codex Committee for Malawi, Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization – Malawi Country Offices organized a live panel discussion on Times TV, Times Radio and Times 360 Malawi Facebook page as main event to celebrate the day in Malawi. Under this year’s theme-slogan, “Safe food now for a healthy tomorrow [...]
The Beninese Food Safety Agency (ABSSA) organized a nationwide celebration of World Food Safety Day for 7 June, to raise public awareness about food safety among the general public and food workers and encourage action to prevent, detect and manage foodborne risks.
Government dignitaries appeared on television in the run up to the day itself to ensure maximum publicity for the event. In addition to print media coverage, on 2 June, the Director General of ABSSA, Épiphane Sètondji Hossou, appeared on [...]
The Food Safety Summit South Africa, held virtually on 8-9 June 2021, in honour of World Food Safety Day, proved to be another successful and informative event. True to the maxim that “food safety is everybody’s business”, the event co-hosts, Food Focus and Anelich Consulting, composed a programme that covered an array of multifaceted topics relevant across the food chain.
Delegates were given access to cutting-edge presentations from almost 20 local and international doctors, professors, and food safety professionals from a [...]
On World Food Safety Day in particular, people are often reminded that if food is not safe, it is not food. In her address to the annual World Food Safety Day workshop at the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Nigeria, Professor Folake Henshaw went further. “If your food is not safe,” she told the 1000-seater hall, “it’s poison!”
Henshaw is well known for her outspoken and passionate approach to spreading the word on food safety. Indeed, one of the reasons [...]
To mark World Food Safety Day this year, young people in Burkina Faso were taught about food hazards, good food hygiene and the “five keys to safer food,” which are promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO). Across the 12 districts of Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou, 16-to-20-year-olds were trained over a period of three days on “awareness sessions on food safety and the means to ensure daily healthy food.”
Between 8 and 10 June, pairs of experts, including food safety experts [...]
From 1 to 2 June 2021, a Technical Capacity Building Workshop for members of the National Codex Alimentarius Committee was held in Bohicon (BENIN). The aim was to train stakeholders on the procedures of the Codex Alimentarius, the online commenting system, participation in electronic working groups. An FAO expert (Luc Ingenbleek) from Italy and a WHO expert (Lusubilo Mwamakamba) from Burkina Faso, who joined online, in collaboration with local experts facilitated the workshop. Participants came from the technical directorates of [...]
On World Food Safety Day, the Minister of Health and Wellness of Botswana, Dr Edwin G Dikoloti, was joined by several ministerial dignitaries and representatives from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in a public event where he delivered a keynote address on the importance of food safety for Botswana.
Minister of Health and Wellness of Botswana, Dr Edwin G Dikoloti
Dr Puna Gasennelwe, a Public Health Specialist hosted the event on [...]
