El Comité Coordinador para África fue creado por la Comisión del Codex Alimentarius en 1972, con el mandato de ejercer “la coordinación general en la preparación de normas relativas a la región de África”. El comité celebró su primera reunión en la FAO en 1974, con la asistencia de 19 países.
Al iniciarse el mandato del nuevo coordinador regional, el Acuerdo sobre la Zona de Libre Comercio Continental Africana (AfCFTA, por sus siglas en inglés), que entró en vigor en mayo de 2020, ha reforzado la necesidad de contar con un sistema eficiente y eficaz para gestionar las medidas sanitarias y fitosanitarias, en particular la inocuidad alimentaria, en todo el continente a medida que sus fronteras se abren al comercio.
El coordinador regional tiene su sede en la Oficina Nacional de Normalización de Uganda, un organismo estatutario dependiente del Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Cooperativas que supervisa, en el marco de su mandato, la promoción y el uso de las normas.
Como coordinador regional, Uganda tiene la intención de colaborar estrechamente con los diferentes países a través de encuestas, seminarios web y talleres para identificar las necesidades y los nuevos problemas, y generar conciencia sobre los temas prioritarios en materia de inocuidad de los alimentos y sobre las normas del Codex. También se analizará la situación de la inocuidad de los alimentos en la región en términos más amplios a través de un estudio piloto. Al fortalecer la colaboración con organismos regionales como la Unión Africana, la Organización Africana de Normalización y la Secretaría de la Zona de Libre Comercio Continental Africana, Uganda pretende asimismo mejorar la labor de incidencia en la región.
In South Africa, the Department of Health, Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Developments and the National Regulator for Compulsory Specification, as Competent Authorities responsible for Food Safety and Control have, in collaboration with the food industry, scientific organizations and industry experts, planned a series of events and activities through on line and virtual platforms, including social media, with the aim to celebrate World Food Safety Day 2020 and to inspire action to help prevent, detect and manage food [...]
This year, to raise awareness and inspire action for safer food in Africa, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO), World Food Programme (WFP), Codex Coordinating Committee for Africa (CCAFRICA), and the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) are jointly organizing virtual World Food Safety Day (WFSD) events, in collaboration with the Government of Ghana, on 8 & 10 June 2020. Considering the ongoing challenges of climate change, global food production and supply systems, [...]
The Joint FAO/WHO Regional Coordinating Committee for Africa (CCAFRICA) and the Africa Union Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources have organised a webinar to commemorate this year’s world food safety day as a region
The 2nd observance of WFSD on 7 June 2020 promises to leverage on the momentum created from the previous celebrations. Africa Union Member States are desirous to collaborate in unison to focus efforts of reaching state and non-state actors as well as those directly involved in food systems in [...]
The current COVID-19 crisis has created an unprecedented change in how we think about and approach work, leisure, and life in general. Technologies are playing a crucial role in keeping our society functional in a time of lockdowns and quarantines. Codex Members and Observers had to adapt quickly to the new environment, implementing the use of online tools to actively participate in Codex work and ensure consumer health.
The Codex Secretariat has held training sessions in different regions and regularly showcases [...]
The coronavirus outbreak has interrupted the schedule of physical meetings in Codex and led to a rethink of how countries within the Codex community, with its continuous cycle of committees and working groups, can stay connected when international meetings seem off the agenda for the time being.
On Tuesday 21 April 48 participants from 18 countries in the Codex CCAFRICA region, together with representatives from the African Union – Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources, the Economic Community of West African States, [...]
Madagascar is continuing its efforts to build the capacity of its members with the support of the Codex Trust Fund. A four-day training workshop in Antananarivo from 24-27 February 2020 set out to integrate new members and provide a refresher for more experienced members. The workshop also dealt with the redefinition of priority committees for Madagascar, the formulation of national positions, preparation for sessions as well as the use of online Codex tools. After this training, Madagascar will further improve [...]
Madagascar depends heavily on food imports to meet its food requirements. Effective and efficient control of food imports is therefore essential to facilitate food trade on the island and to protect the health of consumers.
“Several different authorities carry out inspections of those products according to their respective competences”, said Dominique Lantomalala, Codex Contact Point, Madagascar. “Most of the time, there is a lack of coordination and synergy between these actions. Faced with imports, local industries suffer and it is not [...]
Former Codex Chairperson Mrs. Awilo Ochieng Pernet calls upon Burkina Faso to strengthen its national Codex and food safety structures during the 59th Independence Anniversary Celebrations
Mrs. Awilo Ochieng Pernet, former Chairperson of the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission from 2014 to 2017 was invited to Burkina Faso to support high-level advocacy efforts in the country on food safety and Codex on the occasion of the 59th Independence Anniversary Celebrations, which took place on 11 December 2019. The objective of the advocacy was [...]
A consultative workshop on National Codex issues was organized on 6 December 2019 in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. The main objectives of the workshop were to discuss national food control systems, including Codex, and to begin preparation of a project proposal for the Codex Trust Fund.
Mr Arefaine Berhe, Minister of Agriculture, who officially opened the session, told the Ministry of Information website shabait.com that food safety was central to survival and wellbeing and that regulating national food standard had [...]
Mabel Aworh from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Nigeria reports on a week of action.
The official 'Nigeria Antibiotic Guardian Pledge' was launched at a high-level event by Senate Committee Chair on Health, Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe and Chair on Agriculture and Productivity, Abdullahi Adamu.
Speaking to the Daily Trust website, Oloriegbe committed to raising awareness among Nigerians on the dangers of using human and veterinary antibiotics indiscriminately and promised to communicate in mass-messaging to educate Nigerians. “The media [...]
