Food Safety Capacity Workshop for African Experts Underway

A three-day workshop aimed at strengthening food safety capacity for expertise drawn from AU member states and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) is underway here in Addis Ababa.

Opening the workshop this morning, AUC Division for Agriculture and Food Security Head  Simplice Nouala said Africa is one of the most food insecure continents in the world, threatening millions of vulnerable people.

According to him, "African food safety and quality have been largely ignored, though the challenging is daunting."

The workshop is meant to bring the national food safety expertise up-to-date and to share knowledge on the status of food safety in Africa.

Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa Program Manager, Amare Ayalew said apart from the adverse impact of health, food safety risks pose significant threats to the competitiveness of African agriculture, food security and nutrition.

According to WHO, 91 million people in Africa fall ill each year due to food-borne diseases  and 137,000 die of the same cause, representing one-third of the global death toll for food-borne diseases.

The workshop is organized by African Union Commission (AUC) through the Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA) in partnership with Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA).