The African Union Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) / United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Colloquium on Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) was held in Accra, Ghana from 3 to 4 September 2015 at the Fiesta Royale Hotel. The participants comprised of Food Safety experts including Codex Contact Point Officers/persons, senior experts and officials under ministries of health, agriculture, livestock and fisheries from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Togo, United Republic of Tanzania and United States of America, and representatives from AU-IBAR and the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF).
Funded by the USDA Codex office, the Colloquium was officially opened by Mr. Robert Baffour Tandor, Director of Standards representing the Minister for Trade and Industry of Togo. AU-IBAR opening remarks were given by Dr. Raphael Coly, AU-IBAR PANSPSO Coordinator, while USDA remarks were made by Mrs Mary Frances Lowe, U.S. Codex Manager.
The objectives of the colloquium were:
- to get update on Africa food safety issues as they relate to Proposed Guidelines for the Application of General Principles of Food Hygiene for the control of Foodborne parasites;
- to identify areas of capacity building on Codex participation and on food safety organization in Africa including risk analysis and establishment of food control authorities at national and regional levels;
- to exchange views and Share experiences between CCAfrica and U.S. Codex Delegates on Codex draft standards under discussion in various Codex committees;
- to find opportunity to collaborate on strategies for advancing shared regional positions; and
- to adopt harmonized positions on key Codex issues of importance to both regions.
The Colloquim was organized in two days (usually it is in three days). The plenary presentation was on the following subjects:
- An overview and objectives of colloquium;
- "Proposed Guidelines for the Application of General Principles of Food Hygiene for the control of Foodborne parasites"
Following the discussions on the two subjects above, the participants were divided and worked in two groups. One group addressed issues on the agenda of the 47th session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH), a second group considered matters for the 19 session of the Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (CCFFV) while a third one considered matters for the 37th session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU).
All the three groups reconvened to pleanary session on day two presenting outcomes of the work done in the working groups. The working group work was organized into text to be sent to all CCAfrica countries for comments and further consideration.