As is the case for many Small Island Developing States, Mauritius imports the large majority of the food its population consumes, whilst also relying economically on exporting certain local foodstuffs. Ensuring the safety of its food imports and marketability of its exports is thus of vital importance to the country. The Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security and WHO Mauritius recently convened a workshop for the harmonization the country’s food legislation with Codex standards, an endeavour that carries significant benefits, both in terms of public health and trade opportunities.

Under the Building Codex Mauritius project, the country has embarked on an ambitious journey to significantly scale up its participation in the Codex Alimentarius Commission’s standards-setting negotiations. The project, which is being funded by the Codex Trust Fund with technical support from WHO Mauritius, has already yielded several notable outputs such as the development of a national Codex procedural manual, the creation of a Codex Mauritius website and the training of high-level decision-makers in Codex negotiations, among others.

According to the WHO Representative, Dr Anne Ancia, the harmonization of standards was the “logical next step in Building Codex Mauritius.” Regrouping nearly 60 representatives from the public and private sector, this four-day workshop resulted in the creation of 19 thematic e-working groups which have been giving the task of conducting a desktop review of existing food standards. They will then compare them to Codex standards and those in use in several developed and developing countries before drafting new national food standards which will then be submitted to the Mauritius Food Standards Agency.

Due to how comprehensive the Codex Alimentarius is – it contains around 15,000 food standards – the e-working groups will prioritize their work, starting with the most widely consumed food products and those that pose the greatest potential risk.

Indoomatee Ramma, Principal Research Scientist at the Food and Agricultural Research and Extension Institute, explains why it’s important to ensure that imported food products are safe. “Our job is to highlight where there are gaps so that we can develop the necessary standards. If not, we risk becoming a dumping ground. For the safety of the population, we are looking at what exists already, what needs to be improved upon (based on other internationally recognized standards), and the new standards that need to be developed.”

According to the World Health Organization, there are 600 million cases of food-borne illnesses every year, resulting in 420,000 deaths. To put it another way, WHO estimates that as many as 33 million years of Healthy Lives are lost due to the intake of unsafe food. The most effective way of tackling this global health issue is by adopting stricter food standards.

As the former chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the WHO consultant for the workshop, Dr Sanjay Dave, is strongly convinced of the rationale behind more stringent regulations: “The primary reason for harmonizing food standards is to prevent unsafe food from entering Mauritius. According to World Trade Organization rules, food producers need to meet the standards of the importing countries. So low standards increase the risk of substandard food entering the country.”

Mr Dave also emphasizes the need for the updated and new standards to be financially and technically feasible. “The e-working groups will look at what Mauritius needs, its priorities and the practicalities; the standards have to be implementable. They will then draft updated or new standards taking into account quality and safety parameters.” Once adopted, the new regulations will have implications for local food importers which is one of the reasons why they have been included in the process.

Menasha Appadoo is the compliance and sustainability manager at a local company that imports and processes fish, meat and dairy products. She already uses the Codex standards on a daily basis to ensure the suitability of its supplies. “This workshop was a great opportunity for the private sector to work with the government and share its insights about the process,” she says. “As an importer of food products, we will need to adhere to the new rules and regulations that will come out of the process and we will communicate with our suppliers accordingly. This will further help guarantee the safety of our products.”

According to Faryaz Hotee, scientific officer in the Agronomy Division of the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security, reinforcing the country’s food safety regulations also has significant advantages for the commercialization of locally produced commodities. “For us to export our products to other markets, we need to have equivalent standards. If we can harmonize our national standards with Codex standards it makes exporting a lot simpler,” he explains. “Through these e-working groups, we will look at the current status of our national standards, compile and compare the standards and regulations in use elsewhere before drafting new national food standards.”

Mr Dave agrees. “Better standards are not only a public health safeguard, they also offer better market access opportunities.” More broadly, the international food safety expert explains that Building Codex Mauritius is an opportunity for the country to have a say in the Codex decision-making process. “Codex Member Countries - Mauritius became a member in 1971 – are subject to Codex standards which have to be practicable both for developed and developing countries. If the latter don’t participate in the negotiations then there’s a risk their voices won’t be heard.”

The Codex Contact Point, Dr Shalini Neeliah, points out that Codex participation comes with additional trade implications: “Since their recognition under the World Trade Organization Agreements, Codex standards have become a reference, and it is highly important and relevant to participate in Codex processes at international level,” adding that 150 participants have benefitted from capacity building under the Building Codex Mauritius so far.

As the first African country to obtain funding and technical support from the Codex Trust Fund, Mauritius’ experiences in terms of strengthening its participation in Codex negotiations and the lessons learned along the way will help pave the way for other Member States in the region striving to scale up their involvement in these global standard-setting exchanges.