September

Kenya-Hand washing awareness contest on the way
22 Sep 2009
Daily Nation [edited][FSNet]
An essay competition among school children will be launched soon to sensitize the public on the importance of washing hands.
The announcement by the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Programme (WSP) comes at a time when statistics show that hand washing with soap is rarely practiced and at the right time, such as before eating or after visiting the toilet.

Uganda-Fish firms get food safety training
14 Sep 2009
New Vision [edited][FSNet]
The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), and the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), have trained fish processing companies in ISO 22000 food safety standards.
The one-week training equipped participants with better food-handling practices aimed at promoting food safety and ensuring conformity to international standards.

August

Uganda-UNIDO joins food safety drive
31 Aug 2009
New Vision [edited][FSNet]
The UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Kyambogo University and the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) have trained food inspectors from 10 districts on better food handling practices and adoption of international standards.
The certificate course in food inspection trained inspectors in international standards, regulations and laws, which will help in penetrating developed countries’ food markets.

Rwanda-Government probing supplier over "food poisoning"(Kigali)
18 Aug 2009
allAfrica.com [edited][FSNet]
Officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs are carrying out investigations to establish whether the two juvenile prisoners who had been detained at Nyagatare prison, died of food poisoning.
Reporters learned that the ministry has rejected a new request by the supplier to feed Butare, Kigali and Nyagatare prisons. According to sources, the first contract to supply food to the three prisons has expired, and the ministry was in the process of renewing it.

July

Ghana-GSB trains food manufacturers in food safety
15 Jul 2009
GNA [edited][FSNet]
The Ghana Standards Board (GSB) has trained 110 food manufacturers from 77 companies to build their capacity for the development of the industry.
A statement issued by the Public Relations Office of the Board said the training was under the theme Food Safety and Food Safety Management Systems.
It said the participants were manufacturers of food products, including water and the fishing industry. Thirty-six participants from 31 companies were taken through a two-day intensive course made up of lectures and practical case studies in for the first program.

June

Rwanda:Food safety standards necessary(Kalibata)
26 June 2009
AllAfrica.com [edited] [ProMed]
The State Minister for Agriculture has emphasized the need for tight food safety standards, in the handling of food exports, if the country is to fully exploit the existing potential in the horticulture industry.
Speaking to officials of the Rwanda Bureau of standards (RBS) and stakeholders in the food production sector during a development conference, the State Minister for Agriculture emphasized the need to meet the necessary standardization
In an effort to increase export diversification, the minister noted that horticulture has been declared one of the top government priorities urging stakeholders to understand the requirements and strengthen the national strategy on horticulture.

March

Ghana-UN- Habitat trains schools and colleges on hygiene habits
2 March, 2009
Accra, GNA [Eat Safe Ghana] Water and Sanitation Club (WATSAN), a United Nations (UN) Habitat and a Ghana Education Service (GES) sponsored program, Water for Africa Cities II (WAC) have inaugurated a project under which students from schools and colleges are being trained to be aware of the linkages between good drinking water, safe disposal of waste, hygienic habits and health. It also aimed at facilitating changes in attitude and behavior of children and adults in schools and communities to promote better understanding of the environment in water, sanitation and hygiene context.
The project, inaugurated in Accra at the weekend and dubbed; "Human Value Based Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Education" drew participating schools and colleges that have formed the clubs from Nsawam Presby Junior High School (JHS), Weija JHS, Larterbiorkorshie Two and Three Primary Schools, Accra Training College, Sabon Zongo Daawuta and Buhari Islamic Schools.
Addressing the students, Mrs. Abena Ntori, representative of UN-Habitat said value based education was an important agent for behavioral and attitudinal changes of key actors in the urban scene, particularly in dealing with issues that affect everyday life in the cities. She said people attitudes towards keeping and ensuring a clean environment needed to change for the better to improve health and proper sanitation of facilities on a sustainable basis in the country to meet the Millennium Development Goals, such as creating awareness about water and sanitation issues.
Mrs. Sarah Agyeman-Dua of Curriculum Research and Development Division of the GES said nurturing values, such as honesty, tolerance, responsibilities and curing in children during their formative years helps them to become responsible adults in future. She said every child or student has the capacity to care about values and to positively interact, explore and catch human value when provided with opportunity to learn. Mrs. Agyeman-Dua said children also thrive in values-based atmosphere in a positive, safe environment of mutual respect and care, where they could be capable of learning to make socially conscious choices.
Madam Jane Oku, Assembly woman and Chairperson of the Sabon Zongo Development Committee, expressed gratitude to the UN-Habitat and the GES for selecting Sabon Zongo among seven communities for the inauguration of the clubs. She urged the children to explore and develop positive and lasting change in their behavior and attitude that would promote hygienic living and use of water in a more sustainable manner.

February

Ghana –Codex Meeting in Accra
Accra, Feb. 24,
GNA[EatSafeGhana]
World Health Organisation Country Representative, Dr. Daniel Kertesz on Monday said the mortality from consumption of contaminated food and water is around 700,000 annually for all age groups in Africa. The incidence of diarrhoea caused by consumption of contaminated food and water is estimated at up to five episodes per child per year, he said at the opening of the 18th Session of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) of the Codex Coordinating Committee for Africa in Accra.
The FAO/WHO Coordination Committee for Africa (CCAFRICA) is one of the six regional coordinating committees for the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) established by the FAO and the WHO in 1964 to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the international food trade by developing standards and guidelines. The meeting is to enable participants from the Africa Region to exchange recent information on the food control situation as well as emerging issues in the region including trans-boundary food safety problems. He said the Disability Adjusted Life Years lost to Food and water-borne diarrhea in the Africa region was 4.1per 1000 globally as compared to 5.7 to 7.1 per 1000 in Africa.
Dr. Kertesz noted that, the year 2008 saw an unprecedented number of food- borne diseases caused by microbes and chemical contaminants, including pesticides residues and mycotoxins. These, he said included cholera in many countries: Typhoid fever and botulism; pesticide poisoning through beans and vegetables; Bromide poisoning; diarrhea and food poisoning. A worry developing he said was the multi-drug resistant strains of the causative agents of food-borne diseases have been reported. Some of the countries in the African region were affected by emergencies associated with melamine contaminated milk, milk products and pork products contaminated with dioxin, produced from pigs slaughtered in Ireland.
This, he attributed to the huge gaps in the laboratory capacity in the countries and noted that the WHO regional Committee for Africa would adopt a paper on the establishment of Centres of Excellence for Disease Surveillance, public health laboratories and Food and Drugs regulation. He was of the view that there was a growing tendency to shift from eating home-prepared food to consuming ready-to-eat foods, which he noted, meant that a single error from a food handler could have far reaching consequences. "Hygiene of vending operation is a major source of concern in food control," he said and added that the current global food crisis has worsened an already precarious food situation. He advised that it was therefore critically important to use the scarce food at our disposal safely, effectively and efficiently. Against this background, he said the WHO regional committee for Africa adopted resolution AFR/RC53/R5 in 2003 in the Regional Food Safety Strategy and its accompanying resolution in August 2006 with guiding principles of a holistic and risked based actions which apply the risk analysis principles.
Mr. Edouard Tapsoba, FAO Assistant Director General said food safety is indeed a priority of FAO work particularly in Africa and details of the agenda item on capacity building indicate the importance that FAO and WHO attach to capacity building activities in the area of food safety. He said these activities cover all the components of the food safety management system with emphasis on technical regulations and legislation, risk-based inspection services for national markets as well as imports and exports of food commodities, training of food control officials laboratory testing and monitoring and surveillance. The assistance provided, he said, allows national governments to take full responsibility for implementing all measures necessary for ensuring food safety and is taken in collaboration with the private sector and civil society.
Mr. Tapsoba said the ultimate goal of these food safety related activities is to contribute to overall food security for Africa by ensuring that food produced and sold throughout the continent and beyond meet safety and quality requirements consonant with internationally agreed standards, in particular with the applicable Codex Alimentararius standards. He noted that one could never stress enough the fact that the international market had become more demanding in terms of safety and sanitary requirements, adding that the world market was becoming increasingly difficult and that getting ejected is becoming increasingly easier. He said progress had been made to improve food control systems, to enhance the safety of food commodities sold on both the domestic and international markets. Mr. Tapsoba said these challenges would require political awareness and commitment at the highest level of government so that these issues are adequately addressed by, and receive proper support from, higher-level decision makers.
Related stories
24 Feb 2009-Veep opens conference on food safety
GNA [EatSafeGhana]
Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday underscored effective collaboration among nations and the strengthening of food safety control systems to ensure safety and quality of foods on the international food market.
He said the emerging food safety concerns called for effective national food safety control systems that would protect the health and safety of consumers.
Opening the 18th Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) joint Committee for Africa session in Accra, Vice President Mahama said the realisation of safe and quality food could not be achieved by any one country acting by itself. He observed that unilateral efforts by some countries through the imposition of export restrictions to contain the negative effects of the hazards posed by unsafe food, might not be sustainable and would actually contribute to further aggravate the food security situation. The five-day meeting would discuss various issues on food safety and nutrition affecting parts of the world, with particular reference to Africa.
It would also look at effective participation of the African Members in the activities of the Rome-based Codex Alimentarius Commission, for which Ghana currently served as co-ordinator for the Africa Region.
Vice President Mahama said Government expected efficiency in agricultural performance by using a value-chain approach to ensure that Ghana's agricultural policies led to the production, processing, marketing and distribution of food using the most efficient and cost effective methods.
Food safety, he said, was a fundamental public health concern, and the challenges of food safety, particularly to developing countries, resulted from food-borne hazards, which further posed risks to health and obstacles to international trade in food.
The Vice President called for the strengthening of Food Law and Regulations, Food Control Management, Inspection Services, Laboratory and Information Services, which were at different stages of development in different countries.
He urged member countries to resource their expert groups and strategically position themselves for challenges ahead. "The time has come now, more than ever before, for the technical and scientific expertise in the region to be fully harnessed and harmonised to respond adequately to the numerous challenges facing the region in the area of food safety," Vice President Mahama said.
He said Government recognised the role of the Codex Commission in protecting consumer health and facilitating international trade and commended the FAO, WHO and the Codex Commission for their continued commitment to their objective of ensuring better and safer food for all. Vice President Mahama called on African Governments and Donor Agencies to show renewed commitment by providing support for Codex activities.
"We need to translate this political will into urgent and real actions to allow the region to make the much needed impact. I am hopeful that the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee will rise to the challenge," he said.

Kenya-Meat dealer arrested with game meat
01 Feb 2009
Capital News - Wambui Waweru [edited][iFSN]
It is reported that a Nairobi businesswoman has been arrested at a popular meat market with 74 kg of bush meat. Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) investigators seized the suspect who had hidden the bush meat under a butchery counter at the Burma market and was mixing it with inspected meat on display to sell to unsuspecting buyers. Another suspect is on the run after escaping from the dragnet. A man who incited the public against the KWS officials was arrested and is being held at Shauri Moyo police station. KWS said in a statement that trade in such meat not only drives poaching but also poses a great health risk to the public. "Un-inspected meat is likely to transmit such as anthrax and ebola," the statement said.



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