The CCNASWP Region
Regional Coordinator Fiji
The 18th session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, held in 1989, agreed to establish a new Coordinating Committee for North America and the South West Pacific, bringing together, in the words of the New Zealand delegation "far flung countries ... which have many common interests".
CCNASWP is a remarkably diverse region combining fully mature economies such as the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand with 10 small island states. The largest of these is Papua New Guinea (population over 7 million) and the smallest, the Cook Islands and Nauru with populations of around 10 000.
The regional coordinator is based within the Fijian Ministry of Agriculture.
Fiji looks forward to applying standards at the national level and supporting all countries in the region, especially the small island developing states, to establish a sound policy framework for food safety. These initiatives will support improvements in public health, ensure that imported food is safe and of the expected quality and develop increased access to international markets.
The regional coordinator will continue supporting work on regional standards and seeks to strengthen participation of the region in Codex in general. This can be achieved by continuing to develop capacity at the national level by enhancing the role of national coordinators and contact points for increased and effective participation in Codex.
CCNASWP Coordinator
All information on Codex is public and free.
For regional enquiries contact:
CCNASWP Secretariat
Ministry of Agriculture
Private Mail Bag
Hugh Robinson Complex
Raiwaqa,
Suva.
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.agriculture.gov.fj
Food Safety in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond
Food safety touches every aspect of our food system and defines how secure, sustainable, resilient, and nourishing a food supply can be when stressed. To mark the second annual World Food Safety Day, FAO North America convened a webinar exploring how to maintain safe supply chains during a pandemic and minimize future disruptions to build more resilient food systems and ensure food security on 12 June. Hank Cardello, Senior Fellow & Director, Food Policy Center, Hudson Institute moderated the expert discussion, which attracted over 300 viewers.
“Unsafe food kills nearly 420,000 people every year- these deaths are entirely preventable,” said Vimlendra Shared, Director of FAO North America in his opening remarks. “We must remember that food safety is everybody’s business. Whether you are a farmer, farm supplier, food processor, transporter, marketer or consumer.”
Steven Jaffee, Lecturer at the University of Maryland Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, set the context for the discussion. Countries need to flatten the curve on COVID-19 and foodborne illnesses, he underlined. This is especially important for developing countries where the health and economic burden of unsafe food is high. According to a World Bank study, unsafe food costs low- and middle-income economies USD $110 billion in lost productivity and medical expenses each year.
“Foodborne illnesses have a significant impact on public health,” reiterated Naoko Yamamoto, Assistant Director-General, Universal Health Coverage / Healthier Populations, World Health Organization (WHO). The Organization is currently working to develop a new global food safety strategy in coordination with FAO to help countries implement policies at the national level and to update the global burden of foodborne illnesses report by 2025. Currently WHO is providing nutrition and food safety guidance to governments, businesses and the public in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We cannot underestimate the significant food security and food safety challenges brought by COVID-19,” stressed Dave Crean, Vice-President of Corporate R&D and Chief Science Officer, Mars, Incorporated. The virus is converging and potentially accelerating global food supply issues, challenging the effectiveness and stability of food supply chains. “Timely and transparent collaboration is essential,” he added emphasizing the need to work across sectors. The Mars Global Food Safety Center (GFSC), a research and training facility to address food safety in Beijing, is one example of what a global collaboration can look like.
Vincent Doumeizel, Director of Food Challenge at Lloyd’s Register Foundation, highlighted the need to enable solutions to improve transparency, traceability, and safety of the food supply chain by adopting new technologies and digitalizing food safety controls. He noted the potential role that sustainable fish farming can provide to build resilient food systems. Towards this goal, the Foundation launched the Seaweed Manifesto, which defines a vision for the seaweed industry.
There is no current evidence of animals playing a role in the spread of COVID-19, clarified Jeffrey Lejeune, Food Safety and Quality Officer at FAO. However, it is still critical that we maintain personal hygiene and environmental sanitation throughout the food chain to keep our food supply safe. “During this current outbreak, we are learning about the vulnerabilities and weaknesses in our food system,” said Lejeune. Thus, flagging areas we need to intervene in order to strengthen our food supply chain for the future.
Bringing together resources, data, technology, public-private sector cooperation, and the ability to respond quickly, will be crucial to building a resilient food system, concluded Barbara Stinson, President of World Food Prize Foundation. The session, which included a robust Q & A session with participants, highlighted the complexity of addressing food safety issues and the challenges and opportunities the COVID-19 pandemic has posed to transform our food system.
Watch the webinar.
Read the twitter thread.
Leave a comment