The CCAFRICA Region - Regional Coordinator Uganda
The ‘Coordinating Committee for Africa’ was established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 1972 with a mandate to “exercise general coordination in the preparation of standards relating to the region of Africa”. The committee held its first meeting at FAO in 1974, with 19 countries in attendance.
As the new regional coordinator begins their term, the Agreement of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which came into effect in May 2020, has reinforced the need for an efficient and effective system for managing sanitary and phytosanitary measures, in particular food safety, across the continent as its borders open for trade.
The regional coordinator is based in the Uganda National Bureau of Standards, a statutory body under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Co-operatives which oversees, as part of its mandate, the promotion and use of standards.
As regional coordinator, Uganda intends to engage closely with countries via surveys, webinars and workshops to identify needs and emerging issues, create awareness of priority food safety issues and of Codex standards. A pilot study will also explore the food safety situation in broader terms across the region. By strengthening engagement with regional bodies such as the African Union, the African Organisation for Standardisation and the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, Uganda also aims to enhance advocacy work in the region.
CCAFRICA Coordinator
All information on Codex is public and free.
For regional enquiries contact:
CCAFRICA Secretariat
Uganda National Bureau of Standards Plot 2 - 12, Bypass Link, Industrial
& Business park, Kyaliwajala road,
P.O Box 6329 Kampala, Uganda
Tel: +256 (041) 7333250 / 0417333251 / 0417333252
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.unbs.go.ug
Kenya join the world in marking World Food Safety Day
On June 7, 2021, Kenya joined the rest of the world in celebrating the 3rd World Food Safety Day. The theme of this year being ‘Safe Food Today, for a Healthy Tomorrow,’ the country organized an online webinar to raise awareness and inspire action on the importance of food safety in the country and the African region at large.
The National Planning Committee Coordinated by the Ministry of Health held a 5-hour webinar which included panelists from various stakeholders of food safety and security.
The webinar started with the keynote speaker introducing the different panels and the various topics they were going to cover including:
- Strengthening Policy and Regulatory GAPS in Food Safety,
- Opportunities for Regional Trade and Challenges of Regulating Food Safety in Africa,
- Industry Focus on Food Safety Management in the Retail, Hotels, Restaurants, Catering, and Institutional Sectors,
- Strengthening Food Safety Partnerships.
The panelists gave their respective presentations and what really stood out in every panel discussion was the participation of organizations when it comes to matters of consumer engagement. That being said, more needed to be done.
Mr. Rikki Agudah, the CEO, Society of Crop Agribusiness Advisors of Kenya (SOCAA) said that ‘everyone is a consumer, and all of us need to take ownership in the food safety issues by working towards solutions.’ He also emphasized the need for consumers to have consumer groups to access the right information concerning food safety rather that receiving alerts from the press.
Mr. Allan Barasa, the senior public health Officer in the Ministry of Health concluded by saying, ‘the webinar is a way of getting the right information out to the consumer and to be able to demystify the term ‘food safety’ being a ‘Scientific or academic’ concept that even when the consumer thinks of engaging in it, they are put off. Rather, the ministry will try and package the information from the webinar in good time and in a very simple and understandable language.’
More about the Kenyan WFSD Webinar: https://web.facebook.com/SOCAAKENYA/videos/838048010141485
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