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
Celebrating World Food Safety Day at the University of Mauritius
The Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Mauritius (UoM) actively celebrated World Food Safety Day to create awareness around the important role food safety plays, through a half-day workshop on 7 June 2023. The programme for the workshop was carefully planned to include some of the most pressing issues in food safety in Mauritius. Speakers were from the University of Mauritius, the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Codex Contact Point for Mauritius, the Mauritius Standards Bureau, the food industry and the hospitality sector.
A series of pre-workshop activities (training of different stakeholders like planters, street food vendors, schoolchildren, foreign workers in the local food industry), a Youth Forum on Food Safety to explore the food safety concerns of youth and the role they can play in promoting food safety and a quiz on food safety and food hygiene were organized. A poster exhibition was also held to showcase programmes of studies in the area of Food Science and Technology, research topics on food safety and hygiene at the Faculty of Agriculture, training materials for the training activities and WHO guidelines on food safety.
During the Opening Ceremony, the Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Mauritius and to the Republic of Seychelles, H.E. Mr Vincent Degert highlighted the engagement of the European Union in advancing food safety. During her remarks, the acting United Nation Resident Coordinator for Mauritius and Seychelles emphasized there are many stakeholders along the food chain and that it is necessary for their cooperation to ensure food safety, which contributes to achieving several of the Sustainable Development Goals. The World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Mauritius, Dr Anne Ancia, also attended the function.
The target audience of this initiative was university students, research scientists, entrepreneurs, industry professionals, consumers, stakeholders of the food and hospitality sectors, consultants, and policy makers.
This event has been generously supported the European Union (under the DeSIRA project), Princes Tuna (Mauritius) Ltd, Moroil Ltd and F.A.L.C.O.N association.
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