Experts meet to discuss food safety, security in ECOWAS

Key stakeholders in food safety and food security from the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and the Sahel regions have converged on Accra for a high-level meeting on improving food safety in the regions through coordination and consultation.

The three-day meeting is the second coordination meeting of the regional food safety regulatory convergence and food safety network.

It has brought together policymakers, food safety and security experts and organisations, regulators, researchers, academia, development partners and other key stakeholders.

Priority areas

The food safety priority areas the meeting is focusing on include contamination in food, pesticides residue, food additives and food hygiene.

The meeting is aimed at sharing international best practices for the coordination and management of food safety matters; validating a strategy and work plan or roadmap of actions for 2024 and beyond and reviewing the level of implementation of priority food safety recommendations for the region, among other objectives.

Collective efforts

In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong, said member countries had similar food safety issues and that required the collective efforts of all and stakeholder institutions to ensure better and accelerated solutions.

The forum

He mentioned such challenges to include the poor conditions under which food, especially fruits and vegetables, were sold at markets and the application of harmful chemicals during production, making food unwholesome.

The minister said while there had been a steady increase in the consumption and utilisation of freshly cut and packaged fruits and vegetables in the sub-region, there was also the challenge of escalation of food-borne diseases due to contamination from chemicals such as pesticides, among others.

On behalf of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Chairman of the United Nations’ Coordinating Committee for Africa, Hakim B. Mufumbiro, said safe food was critical to promoting health and ending hunger, two of the primary goals of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda 2030.

He said the food safety priorities, including mycotoxins, pesticide residues, antimicrobial resistance and food fraud, for the ECOWAS and Sahel regions, were aligned with the main areas of concern in Africa.

Mr Mufumbiro said there was no food security without food safety and in a world where the food supply chain had become more complex, any adverse food safety incidents might have global negative effects on public health, trade and the economy.

“Food is an indispensable human need but may also be a silent vehicle for microbial, chemical and physical hazards. Food-borne disease (FBD) outbreaks in the African region is a major public health concern for all,” he added.

The Director of the African Union-Inter African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), Dr Nick Nwankpa, said food safety was not merely a matter of public health, but one of the pillars on which the prosperity and resilience of the continent rested.

He said evidence from various studies underscored the direct correlation between food safety standards and the reduction in food-borne illnesses.

“So, this convergence is a testament to our commitment to safeguarding the health of our population, thereby ensuring a healthier and more productive society," Dr Nwankpa said.