Africa gets food safety plan

2005-10-06 21:50

Harare - Africa on Thursday launched its first food safety plan, outlining a series of steps over the next five years to provide healthier meals on the world's poorest continent.

Representatives from 49 countries agreed on an five-year action plan for food safety at a four-day conference organised by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The plan provides for the drafting of national food safety plans and research, the approval of new laws to protect consumers and the creation of a pan-African co-ordinating body that will meet regularly to find ways of improving food quality.

It also urges countries to join in Codex, a commission set up by the WHO and FAO which sets out guidelines for food safety and quality.

Food and water-borne diseases are estimated to cause some 700 000 deaths in Africa every year - one third of global deaths from food illnesses, according to the FAO and the WHO.

Huge economic losses

Deaths from food illnesses in Africa are close to rivalling those from malaria, a major killer that accounts for more than one million deaths worldwide, most of these in Africa, the two agencies said.

Poor safety controls also cause huge economic losses for the continent.

The failure to meet new food standards issued by the European Union in 2001 resulted in a 64% drop in exports from Africa of cereals, dried fruits and nuts, representing a loss of $670m.

The 49 countries at the meeting in Harare said however that "due to globalisation and World Trade Organisation agreements, developing countries are increasingly concerned that food safety standards and regulations are creating obstacles to the entry of their foodstuffs into international markets".

"Even when efforts have been made to meet international standards, countries in the region are still finding it difficult to reach certain markets because of stringent food safety and quality requirements," they said.

- AFP