Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization: Joint Statement

Geneva/Rome, 6 October 2005 -- The first pan-African food safety meeting attended by 147 food regulation officials and experts from some 50 countries, today unanimously recommended a Strategic Plan for Food Safety in Africa for adoption by UN food and health agencies and the African Union.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the Regional Food Safety Conference for Africa has produced a nine-point plan that, if adopted by the governing bodies of FAO, WHO and the African Union would begin the process of improving food safety and quality across the continent.

The Action Plan recommends that governments of Africa adopt “clear and coherent food safety policies as part of a comprehensive national strategy, based on the sharing of responsibilities for food safety between public authorities, industry and consumers and taking into account the entire food chain from farm to table.”

Ultimately, implementing the strategic plan for food safety in Africa will have a far-reaching impact on the region’s consumers. By providing a framework of regulations, it will enable countries to set up national food safety programmes “to reduce food-borne risks and improve the safety of the food supply ”.

“The best way for people to avoid getting sick from food is prevention, which means ensuring food is not contaminated in the first place,” says Dr. Peter Ben Embarek, WHO Food Safety Scientist. “In addition, food contamination monitoring and food-borne disease surveillance would help identify the foods that make people sick and the related diseases. This would enable national authorities to address both the source and the spread of the diseases. Efficient systems would contribute building consumer confidence, making them active partners in the safety of food.”

Trade implications are also at the core of the plan. It calls on international organizations to assist the countries of Africa in “the harmonization of their inspection methods as well as in the creation of an early warning system for imported products which do not meet food safety standards.”

According to Ezzeddine Boutrif, Chief, FAO Food Quality and Standards Service: “The implementation of the Strategic Plan recommended by the African Regional Food Safety meeting will improve food production systems throughout the African continent making it possible for African farmers to market their food and agricultural products across Africa and throughout the global marketplace. Greater trading opportunities for African farmers will help reduce rural poverty and raise incomes and living standards by creating jobs in agriculture-related enterprises.”