Project to improve food safety and plant health in 12 African countries begins
FAO has initiated country-level activities, as part of a global 5-million-euro project to improve food safety and phytosanitary control throughout 12 African countries in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) region with training sessions for key participants in the island nation of Comoros.
"Strengthening of Capacities and Governance in Food and Phytosanitary Control,” a two-year project funded by the European Union, is spearheaded by a team of food safety experts from FAO’s Food Systems and Food Safety Division. The team will provide technical support and work with governments to build capacity, strengthen governance and improve the strategic planning of participating countries around food safety and plant health.
“This workshop and training course was a very successful event. There was a truly collaborative spirit, and keen desire to share information and opinions as part of a collective effort,” said Catherine Bessy, FAO Senior Food Safety Officer, who facilitated the four-day training of focal points in Moroni, the capital city of Comoros, last week. This week, the team of assessors walked the national focal points through the first steps of their tasks which involve collecting information and data, a key part of the process that will continue over the next several weeks.
Next stop on the agenda is the Seychelles where the inception workshop and training course of focal points will begin on 28 November.
Ensuring food safety and plant health depends on systems that include effective assessment. As part of the food safety component of the project, the FAO team will work closely with government ministries, academic institutions and other stakeholders to implement its unique FAO/WHO National Food Control System Assessment Tool, which comprehensively evaluates the capacities of a country’s national food control system.
The tool’s success depends on collaboration from multiple levels of government and competent authorities across the food chain. The high level of participation by the government and its promise to provide necessary data at the event last week in Comoros showed strong commitment and engagement. The food safety team walked stakeholders and focal points through the technical steps they will carry out over the programme.
FAO supports governments and institutions across the globe to apply food safety standards set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission to protect consumer health and promote fair practices in the food trade.
Read more about Comoros and Seychelles
See the FAO in Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius and Seychelles website