Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the Federal Government of Nigeria has commenced regional awareness and sensitisation workshops on the importance of Codex Alimentarius standards and codes of practice for food safety.
The aim 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 the food safety standards and codes.
A statement by FAO office Nigeria, said the first sensitisation was done 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.
Established by FAO and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to ensure the safety, quality and fairness in international food trade, the Codex Alimentarius or ‘Food Code’, 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 Enakhire 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.
FAO Representative in Nigeria and to Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Fred Kafeero, represented by the project’s Focal Point, Mrs. Sadiya Haliru, noted that food safety is an essential path to sustainable food security and can be attained by establishing workable food safety control systems that conforms to international food standards.
On her part, the Codex Contact point in Nigeria Mrs. Talatu Ethan, said as many other countries are striving to improve their food systems, there is 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”.
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