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
Benin authorities promote World Food Safety Day
The Beninese Food Safety Agency (ABSSA) organized a nationwide celebration of World Food Safety Day for 7 June, to raise public awareness about food safety among the general public and food workers and encourage action to prevent, detect and manage foodborne risks.
Government dignitaries appeared on television in the run up to the day itself to ensure maximum publicity for the event. In addition to print media coverage, on 2 June, the Director General of ABSSA, Épiphane Sètondji Hossou, appeared on the Actu Matin programme on the Canal 3 television channel to promote the World Food Safety Day events, and the Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Innocent Togla, spoke on the ORTB television channel on 6 June.
A 7 June event involved a panel discussion on the subject of “a healthy environment for healthy food,” which was introduced by Épiphane Sètondji Hossou and Innocent Togla and which was followed by a debate.
Subsequently, over a four-day period, ABSSA organized training sessions for people who work in the hospitality industry in the city of Cotonou. People from 144 different establishments attended these sessions.
ABSSA employees also went out into food markets and distributed World Food Safety Day aprons and masks and talked to stall holders about good hygiene practices.
Read more: www.agriculture.gouv.bj/abssa/
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