In commemoration of the 2023 World Food Safety Day (WFSD), the African Union Commission, East African Community, the Government of Kenya, TradeMark Africa, MESPT, and Partners organized an event from 5 to 7 June 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya to raise awareness on food safety. The meeting was held under the theme “Food Standards Save Lives”.
The Summit brought together 220 participants from 30 African Union member states, 2 RECs (EAC, ECOWAS), AUC, and Development Partners (EU, USAID, DANIDA).
Speaking at the event one of the delegates noted that “WE the Member States of the African Union, Regional Economic Communities, Development Partners, Food Producers, Processors, Marketers and Consumers.”
RECALLING the momentum created from the previous World Food Safety Day celebrations, and desirous of collaborating in unison to focus efforts on reaching state and non-state actors as well as those directly involved in food systems on the continent in order to raise the profile of food safety.
RECOGNIZING that foodborne diseases make 91 million people ill and cause 137,000 premature deaths annually in Africa the meeting noted that this translated into productivity losses of US$95 billion a year in developing countries alone;
The three day summit also noted that the application of, and compliance with, food standards is a critical factor to promoting safe food value chains and reducing the public health and socio-economic impacts of the high foodborne disease burden in Africa.
And in aware of the need to promote safe trade in food to realize the continental objectives of ending hunger and tripling intra-African trade in agricultural commodities and services by 2025 the summit assured ttbe world that they will put this into effect.
Further the summit also noted the importance of food standards and risk-based food safety measures in assuring the safety and quality of food products for public health protection and trade facilitation.