The four-day First Regional Conference on Food Safety for Africa ended here on Thursday with joint statement for African food safety, according to two UN agencies.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) announced at the closing meeting that the Regional Food Safety Conference for Africa has produced a nine- point plan that, if adopted by the governing bodies of FAO, WHO and the African Union would begin the process of improving food safety and quality across the continent.

The Action Plan recommends that governments of Africa adopt " clear and coherent food safety policies as part of a comprehensive national strategy, based on the sharing of responsibilities for food safety between public authorities, industry and consumers and taking into account the entire food chain from farm to table."

Ultimately, implementing the strategic plan for food safety in Africa will have a far-reaching impact on the region's consumers. By providing a framework of regulations, it will enable countries to set up national food safety programs "to reduce food-borne risks and improve the safety of the food supply."

The statement said the recommended strategic plan of action for food safety in Africa was an attempt to begin to provide African solutions to the challenges to improving food safety.

It said the implementation of such a strategic plan would not be possible with a strong political commitment from African leaders at the highest level to ensure the mobilization of the necessary resources, human and financial, to carry out the proposed activities.

Trade implications are also at the core of the plan. It calls on international organizations to assist the countries of Africa in "the harmonization of their inspection methods as well as in the creation of an early warning system for imported products which do not meet food safety standards."

The implementation of the Strategic Plan recommended by the African Regional Food Safety meeting will improve food production systems throughout the African continent making it possible for African farmers to market their food and agricultural products across Africa and throughout the global marketplace.

Greater trading opportunities for African farmers will help reduce rural poverty and raise incomes and living standards by creating jobs in agriculture-related enterprises, said the statement.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) jointly convened the FAO/WHO Regional Conference on Food Safety for Africa which started on Tuesday in an effort to facilitate discussion on practical actions and recommendations to promote food safety in the countries of the Africa region.

The first pan-African food safety meeting attended by 147 food regulation officials and experts from some 50 countries. It was also as well as eight international organizations as observers.

Aid agencies say 12 million people in southern Africa face severe food shortages and will need food aid until the next harvest starts around April 2006.

Source: Xinhua