A mission to validate food safety-related data in the Union of Comoros and Republic of Seychelles

01/06/2023

Last week missions to validate the data gathered on the food control systems in the island nations of Comoros and Seychelles were conducted by two teams of international consultants as part of an ongoing two-year project to strengthen governance around food safety and plant health in 11 African Union countries.

The project, funded by the European Union and spearheaded by a team of experts from FAO, began activities last November in the Union of Comoros and Seychelles where focal points underwent a series of trainings on the food control system assessment tool and on the process of collecting data around multiple indictors and across multiple ministries and agencies that form the food control system of both countries.

After a four-month data collection period, assisted by the FAO team and a national consultant, a validation mission was carried out which involved field visits, meeting with Competent Authorities for food safety, identifying data gaps, and verifying facts with multiple stakeholders.

In Comoros, visits and technical meetings took place with academic institutions, consumer associations and food business operators in the islands of Moroni, Moheli and Anjouan.

In the Seychelles the work took place in Mahé and Praslin islands and included field visits in markets, abattoirs and food business operators.

The next step in the assessment process is the development of a report around a number of pre-determined indicators based on the data collected and verified. The report will be reviewed by the Competent Authorities involved in the data collection and it will be endorsed during a final workshop scheduled to take place by end July (Union of Comoros) and in September (the Seychelles). The entire process will culminate in the development of a strategic analysis and a costed plan aimed at strengthening the countries’ respective food control systems.

Comoros and the Seychelles were the first two countries to implement the assessment and will be the first to complete it. Next in line is Eswatini, followed by Mauritius, Kenya and Rwanda.

The project, co-signed by the Government falls within the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Policy Framework for Africa developed by the African Union (AU) to spur trade among AU Member States and is implemented in close collaboration with the African Union Commission Division for Rural Economy and Agriculture (AUC DARBE).

Read more about the FAO/WHO Food Control System Assessment Tool

A mission to validate food safety-related data in the Union of Comoros and Republic of Seychelles

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