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.
As the new CCAFRICA Coordinator, The Gambia commits to serve as a strong pillar in codex work for the African region and will provide strong leadership and positive influence for a better, stronger, and united Africa in food safety and trade facilitation while leaving no one behind.
Our priority focus would be on effective participation in Codex work, capacity development, advocacy, resource mobilsation and harmonization of standards, guidelines, and regulations. The completed CCAFRICA implementation plan of the Codex Strategic Plan 2026 – 2031, will be the basis for consolidating and galvanizing the CCAFRICA region to achieve the goals of the Codex five-year plan.
Effective and sustained communication and consultation with members, stakeholders, partners and the Codex secretariat will be the basic tool for our success. We will leverage on existing tools and platforms while at the same time embracing new technologies in closing the digital divide. Together, we will make the food in the region safer, more nutritious, and highly tradable.
The European Union (EU) and African Union (AU) Partnership for Resilient, Inclusive and Safe Food Systems for Everyone (UP-RISE) project will hold two World Food Safety Day webinars as follows:
Sustainable Food Systems Network (SFSN) webinar: How does climate change contribute to emerging food risks in the EU, and what do we do to manage them?
Climate change is already reshaping what grows where, how food travels, and what risks emerge along the way, often in ways that are hard to see [...]
Under the leadership of the National Codex Alimentarius Committee, Madagascar celebrated World Food Safety Day 2026. Various activities took place during the week leading up to 7 June, also marking the Committee's 20th anniversary of its commitment to food safety and Codex standards.
On 4 June, 2026, the opening ceremony was graced by the presence of the Minister of Livestock, who officially opened the celebration, surrounded by numerous dignitaries. On this occasion, the Minister of Trade and Consumer Affairs delivered a [...]
By Onyinyechi Nwaokoro, NIFST
The Street Food Safety Initiative (SFSI) of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST), Lagos Chapter, commemorated the 2026 World Food Safety Day under the theme, “From Burden to Solutions: Safe Food Everywhere.” The celebration featured a series of impactful programmes held from 4 June to 8 June 2026, which were aimed at promoting food safety awareness and reducing the burden of foodborne illnesses.
The activities commenced on 4 June 2026, with a Market Advocacy and [...]
To mark World Food Safety Day 2026, WELHY SARL, a Guinean company specializing in catering, cleaning and facility management services for the mining sector, organized an employee awareness and engagement day on 8 June 2026.
Under the global theme, “From burden to solutions: safe food for all,” the event aimed to raise awareness of food safety, strengthen the company’s food safety culture and highlight the important role that every employee plays in preventing food safety risks throughout the food chain.
Activities included [...]
A regional webinar commemorating World Food Safety Day 2026 is jointly organized by FAO, WHO, the World Food Programme (WFP), the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Africa (CCAFRICA).
The webinar, themed “Building Africa’s Food Safety Future: From Evidence to Action,” is scheduled to take place virtually on 11 June 2026 and aims to promote awareness and dialogue on the burden of foodborne diseases and practical actions to strengthen food safety systems across Africa.
Date: 11 [...]
The employees of Agro Food Industrie (AFI) and Compagnie des Boissons d’Afrique (CBA), subsidiaries of the SONOCO Group based in the Republic of Guinea mobilized around the global theme "From Burden to Solutions: Universal Access to Safe Food," through several awareness-raising activities and the promotion of a culture of quality and food safety.
The organized activities included:
- Food safety awareness sessions;
- An interactive quiz on good hygiene and manufacturing practices;
- A competition recognizing the best Quality Observation;
- A competition recognizing the [...]
To celebrate World Food Safety Day 2026, the Association for the Fight Against Food Unsanitariness in Cameroon (ALIAC) organized a series of awareness-raising activities in Douala under the theme "Food Safety: Science in Action – From Burden to Solutions: Safe Food for All."
A highlight of the celebrations was a public awareness sports walk on 7 June, which brought together community members, health professionals, students and partners to promote food safety and healthy lifestyles. The event was complemented by food safety education [...]
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), through its Occupational Safety and Health Unit, promotes food safety awareness among military contingents (blue helmets) and civilian personnel in celebration of World Food Safety Day 2026. The initiative focuses on disseminating the WHO and FAO “5 Keys to Safer Food” and strengthening a culture of food safety within the Mission.
To support outreach and engagement, MONUSCO developed educational materials, including an AI-based video in English with [...]
by the Codex Contact point of Uganda
Twelve CCAFRICA Member Countries, including Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, and the United Republic of Tanzania, participated in the 56th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA56) in Chongqing, China. This marked a clear shift in Africa’s engagement from participation to strategic influence, actively contributing to aligning CCAFRICA’s efforts with Goal 2 of the Codex Strategic Plan (2026–2031), which focuses on enhancing Codex [...]
With the support of the European Union-funded Market Access Upgrade Programme Phase II (MARKUP II), which is implemented through the International Trade Centre (ITC), the East African Community (EAC) partner states under the technical committee (TC) on food additives has met in Juba, South Sudan, to develop regional standards for gum arabic. Uganda, as the host of the TC secretariat, guides the process of food additives standards development.
The meeting was hosted 23-27 February 2026 by South Sudan to commence the [...]
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