The ‘Coordinating Committee for Africa’ was established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 1972 with a mandate to “exercise general coordination in the preparation of standards relating to the region of Africa”. The committee held its first meeting at FAO in 1974, with 19 countries in attendance.
As the new regional coordinator begins their term, the Agreement of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which came into effect in May 2020, has reinforced the need for an efficient and effective system for managing sanitary and phytosanitary measures, in particular food safety, across the continent as its borders open for trade.
The regional coordinator is based in the Uganda National Bureau of Standards, a statutory body under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Co-operatives which oversees, as part of its mandate, the promotion and use of standards.
As regional coordinator, Uganda intends to engage closely with countries via surveys, webinars and workshops to identify needs and emerging issues, create awareness of priority food safety issues and of Codex standards. A pilot study will also explore the food safety situation in broader terms across the region. By strengthening engagement with regional bodies such as the African Union, the African Organisation for Standardisation and the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, Uganda also aims to enhance advocacy work in the region.
A short video to amplify youth perspectives on the importance of food safety, inspired by this year's theme: 'Food Safety; Science in Action, was created by Iradat Bisola Oladejo, a food scientist from Oyo, Nigeria, on the occasion of World Food Safety Day.
In the video, she interviewed young professionals and students from various parts of the world, including Badiora Olanike, a PhD student at Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria; Vania Kwan, a student at the University of British Columbia in [...]
Nutrition and dietetics and public health department students at the Bayelsa Medical University in Yenagoa, Nigeria, planned a campaign to improve awareness of better hygiene and food safety practices among street food vendors. The campaign included the information on the use of clean water and overall safe handling and preparation of food, targeting street food vendors preparing roasted unripened plantains and fish sauce within the municipality, in particular, within the university environment and the surrounding streets.
The university also held a [...]
A regional webinar has been planned in the Africa region to commemorate World Food Safety Day 2025, titled “The critical role of science in ensuring safe food for all in Africa.”
Date: Thursday 12 JuneTime: 11:00-13:30 Accra & Dakar, 14:00-16:30 Nairobi Time (EAT), 12:00-14:30 Brazzaville, 13:00-15:30 Johannesburg, Geneva & RomeRegister here
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World Food Safety Day 2025 events
In celebration of World Food Safety Day, the Oladayo Oduwole Nutrition Foundation organized a webinar as part of their Nutrition Through the Lifecycle webinar Series. This event provided a valuable opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of food safety and its impact on public health. The guest speaker, Aina Olugbenga Stephen, Director at the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and former President of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST), shared [...]
Staff at the Marriott Hotel in Lagos celebrated in a day of food safety awareness raising.
The event started with a welcome note from the General Manager to all attendees. There was a presentation for the day by the Hygiene and Food Safety Manager, Victoria Ofoji Macaulay. This was followed by a discussion session led by various dignitaries spanning the food chain who spoke on their roles in safeguarding food.
There was also an art challenge session, where participants were encouraged to [...]
Djibouti, 1 June, 2025
The Djibouti Agency for Standards and Quality (ADN) organized a training and orientation workshop for members of the Technical Committee for Food Standardization (CTN001) 1–2 June 2025. This training is part of the European Union-funded programme "Promoting Regional Economic Integration in the Horn of Africa through the Development of the Djibouti Corridor," managed by the French Development Agency and implemented by TradeMark Africa.
This strategic workshop, officially inaugurated by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Trade and [...]
As part of the preparations for the World Food Safety Day, Action des Nutritionnistes du Congo (ANUCO) is organizing a workshop on June 7 that will bring together stakeholders from the food sector (farmers, fishermen, merchants, transporters, vendors, NGOs, churches, associations, researchers and nutritionists) to reflect on food management practices to prevent foodborne illnesses. This workshop will be followed by an awareness campaign carried out across the provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
More details here.
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World Food Safety Day [...]
The Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Mauritius hosted a webinar on food safety to mark World Food Safety Day.
The event was convened by Associate Professor Daya Goburdhun and featured two guest speakers from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The event was aimed at academia, university students, stakeholders from the food sector, regulators, the hotel sector and food testing labs.
Speakers included Catherine Bessy, Senior Food Safety Officer at FAO, who [...]
By Hakim B. Mufumbiro, Regional Coordinator, FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Africa
Food Safety Experts drawn from 23 African countries (Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe) completed an intensive 5-day training session on Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) for animal disposition studies that was held in Rabat, Morocco ,31 March to 4 April 2025. The main purpose of the training was to [...]
By Milagrosa Mondlane, Secretary, National Codex Committee, Eswatini Standards Authority
The Eswatini National Codex Committee (NCC) convened a national meeting on Friday 21 March 2025 at the Eswatini Standards Authority to review and plan strategic activities for the 2025/26 period. This critical session aimed to strengthen Eswatini’s engagement with the international Codex Alimentarius framework and ensure that national food safety and quality standards align with global best practices.
The discussions focused on reviewing past performance, identifying challenges, and setting priorities for the [...]
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