FAO Educates Rural Communities On Food Safety Awareness
In a collaboration with the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has commenced regional awareness and sensitisation workshops on the importance of Codex Alimentarius standards and codes of practice for food safety.
The aim of the workshops is to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the international food trade by educating the key stakeholders on the importance of food safety standards and codes.
A statement by the FAO office in Nigeria said that the first sensitisation was performed in Kano and Lagos state where farmers, processors, marketers as well as journalists, and other key stakeholders in the food value chain in Nigeria participated.
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The Codex Alimentarius or “Food Code” was established by both the FAO and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to ensure the safety, quality, and fairness in the international food trade, and is a collection of international standards, guidelines, and codes of practice adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
During the awareness-raising workshops the minister of health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire pointed out that little or no attention was given to the issue of safety practice, quality, and standards in food production, processing, and trading and that it was high time to take the message down to the grassroots for wider awareness.
Fred Kafeero, the FAO Representative in Nigeria and to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), represented by the project’s Focal Point, Mrs. Sadiya Haliru, explained that food safety is an essential path to sustainable food security and can be attained by establishing workable food safety control systems that conform to international food standards.
Mrs. Talatu Ethan, the Codex Contact point in Nigeria, stated that as many other countries are striving to improve their food systems, there is a need for Nigerian farmers and Small and Medium Scale Entrepreneurs (SMEs) to also toe the line, “by understanding and implementing codex requirements, to avoid issues that might arise from food safety and quality necessities, especially in relation to exports or international trade”.
