Decision-makers from across Africa met this week to discuss issues around food safety, particularly aflatoxins, in a high-level roundtable convened by the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition and the African Union’s Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA). The Global Panel launched its latest policy brief, “Assuring Safe Food Systems: Policy Options for a Healthier Food Supply” at the roundtable.
The meeting was held in Accra, Ghana, on 12 April 2016, coinciding with the 12th Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program Partnership Platform. Keynote speakers included H.E. Mrs. Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, African Union Commission and H.E. John Kufuor, Former President of the Republic of Ghana (seen here at the conference).
The Global Panel and PACA brought together decision-makers from across Africa to:
- Launch the Global Panel’s brief on food safety and introduce its key messages to African leaders.
- Inform and inspire high-level champions to tackle aflatoxins in African countries based on PACA’s research and knowledge about what works best.
- Stimulate a conversation about global food safety issues, in particular aflatoxins in the African context.
The roundtable addressed broader food safety challenges in Africa which threaten the achievement of the Malabo Declaration. The discussion then focused on aflatoxins, the byproduct of naturally occurring fungi which are undermining health and nutrition, as well as limiting agricultural growth and trade of certain crops and livestock. Together, decision makers and development partners from across Africa discussed the challenges ahead, and identified the most promising pathways to address food safety issues, in particular aflatoxins.
The Global Panel’s new policy brief “Assuring Safe Food Systems: Policy Options for a Healthier Food Supply” reviews food safety issues that are critical to poor and vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income countries.
Recommendations to Policymakers include action items in the areas of Food Systems (urging public awareness and enhanced national standards), Food Production (calling for understanding and advice about sources of contamination and practices to prevent and mitigate such hazards), the Trade and Markets Domain (supporting progressive formalisation of markets and improvement in storage facilities), and the Consumer Domain (encouraging consumer awareness and diet diversity).