Apia, Samoa 11 June

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Subregional Office for the Pacific Islands held a two-day celebration of World Food Safety Day in collaboration with Ministry of Health of Samoa.

Building on a shared commitment to food safety, FAO and the Government of Samoa held a workshop to assess enhance the Samoan national food safety system. “Through open dialogue, knowledge sharing, and collaboration, we can identify practical solutions and strategies to enhance our national framework. Our goal is to protect consumers, support our food producers, and build resilience for the future, “said Raushan Kumar, FAO Officer, who opened the event.

FAO’s technical assistance in food safety in Samoa has focused on three key areas, namely:

(i)              building national capacity through technical training and strengthening governance mechanisms such as the Samoa National Codex Committee;
(ii)            promoting a One Health approach that integrates human, animal, and environmental health to enhance food safety emergency preparedness and biosecurity; and
(iii)           community engagement and public awareness in promoting safe food handling practices to government agencies, farmers, and consumers.

In engaging the community, FAO and the Ministry also worked together with schools in applying the food safety standard and nutrition standard. During this celebration, Falealupo Primary School and Aana 2 College were awarded as “Best Schools Compliant to Food Safety Standards”. While Aleisa Primary School and Itu Asau College were awarded for their best compliance to nutrition standards. A total of 288 schools took part in the competition to receive these awards.

Following the global theme of “Science in Action”, FAO and the Ministry value the importance of teaching young people about the science that keeps our food safe. On 10 June, a school health awareness session was held with 70 students at Tanugamanono Primary School in Apia, Samoa. Teaching young Samoans will contribute to building a food safety culture in the community.

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