The Agency for the Regulation and Control of Phytosanitary and Animal Health (AGROCALIDAD) in Ecuador is running a competition and hosting a webinar for World Food Safety Day, under the themes of “food safety is everyone’s business” and “safe food now for a healthy tomorrow.”

The event will have two parts to it, with Rommel Betancourt, AGROCALIDAD’s food safety coordinator opening the proceedings with a word about World Food Safety Day.

Thereafter, Agustin Zimmermann, the representative for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Ecuador will speak on the importance of cooperation in food safety matters and Rodolfo Campos, representative in Ecuador for the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation (IICA) will expand on that by discussing the challenges of such cooperation.

Julio Cesar Paredes, Executive Director of AGROCALIDAD will then look at the “importance of food safety in agricultural production and access to international markets” and Ecuador’s Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Tanlly Vera Mendoza will look specifically at food safety in Ecuador.

The second part of the webinar will be made up of “Master Lectures”:

• Rodrigo Pacheco, FAO Goodwill Ambassador for the Year of Plant Health will lecture on “The importance of safety in food preparation” 

• Augustin Zimmermann will discuss the World Food Safety Day theme, “Safe Food Now for a Healthy Tomorrow” 

• Gustavo Sotomayor, from the Agency for Food Safety and Quality in Chile (ACHIPIA) will speak on “Food safety experience in the region.” 

• Rommel Betancourt’s lecture will be on “Science, innovation and digital transformation at the service of food safety.” 

• Ana Lucia Freire Velez, Assistant Manager of Quality Assurance, Corporación Favorita, will speak on the “Importance of quality assurance throughout the distribution chain and its impact on food safety.” 

• Jaime Romero, Agricultural Health and Food Safety Regional Specialist, IICA, will close with a lecture on why “Food safety is everyone's business.”

The whole event will finish with the announcement of the competition winner.

The event will be live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/agrocalidadecuador/videos/?ref=page_internal

Date and time:

7 June, 09:00 (14:00 GMT)