EAC standards national agencies agree on new measures for smooth trade

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The East African Community partner states have through their standards regulators agreed on 11 measures aimed at improving the standard of food products on the market. The move is also aimed at ensuring the protection of local consumers against food-borne diseases and a smooth flow of trade within the region.

For years, the EAC has been debating the need for the harmonisation of product standards but a concrete outcome is yet to be realised. This in turn continues to play as an advantage for individual states to restrict the flow of products from one to another.

Presiding over the “high-level East EAC regional meeting” for policy and decision makers on Food Safety and Codex activities in the EAC, Minister for Health Jane Ruth Aceng said food-related illnesses account for a big portion of health expenditure, yet they are easily preventable. Speaking after the meeting, the minister emphasized the need for harmonisation of regulatory mechanisms to ensure safe food for consumers and smooth trade flow in the EAC region.

Statistics from WHO indicate that unsafe food kills an estimated 420,000 people annually yet the deaths are preventable. On the other hand, safe food allows for a suitable intake of nutrients and contributes to a healthy life.

Safe food production also improves sustainability by enabling market access and productivity, which drives economic development and poverty alleviation, especially in rural areas. Additionally, investment in consumer food safety education has the potential to reduce foodborne disease and return savings of up to 10 Dollars for each dollar invested, according to expert reports.

The meeting resolved to implement eleven actions, in a bid to intensify Food Safety and Codex in the region. “Codex” is a code on standards implemented by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) an international food standards body established jointly by FAO and WHO in 1963 with the objective of protecting consumer’s health and ensuring fair practices in the food trade.

The meeting, hosted by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) in Entebbe also adopted four policy briefs that provide recommendations on mitigating the impact of current Food Safety issues of interest in the region. They recommended improved government engagement in regional and international standard-setting activities to contribute effectively to the development of food safety standards and increased investment in Food Safety and Codex, including capacity building for value chain actors, to manage risks and ensure compliance with food standards.

The meeting also agreed to enhance foodborne disease surveillance and monitoring by improving laboratory capacity, data collection, analysis, and reporting, as well as research on food safety focused on developing new technologies, methodologies, and best practices to enhance food safety management systems and mitigate foodborne risks.

They also agreed on the implementation of regional and national food safety policies, frameworks, and strategies and strengthening regulatory mechanisms by developing and enforcing robust food safety policies, regulations, and standards to enhance regulatory mechanisms. The meeting notes the need to encourage strong partnerships between the public and private sectors to promote knowledge transfer, technology adoption, and joint initiatives in food safety throughout the value chain.

The Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Francis Mwebesa pledged government commitment to investing in quality standards and infrastructure like food safety laboratories to ensure accessibility and availability of safe food in Uganda and exports to the region.

Stella Apolot, the Principal Standards Officer at the EAC Secretariat, appreciated the efforts put in place to strengthen food safety in the region but noted that Aflatoxin levels are still a food safety challenge in the region. She thus called for a lasting solution to put an end to it. Minister Aceng said the Ministry of Health is happy that the regional standards sector is taking steps to prevent issues from occurring or ways of resolving them fast and easily because the health sector is always in the midst when challenges arise.

She gave the example of pandemic periods when the ministry has to come in to be involved in the regulation of cargo transportation among others.

This also coincides with the yet-to-be resolved issue of maize exports to South Sudan, more than four months later. Daniel Nangalama, UNBS Acting Executive Director, said there has been progress with many trucks previously impounded released but some remain blocked at the border.

On this specifically, he hopes the introduction of a Certificate of Analysis after testing all the products in the consignment, as agreed with Juba, will be a sustainable solution.

Nangalama said that as UNBS, they are committed to the continued engagement of members in the EAC through capacity-building activities in collaboration with FAO, WHO, and CODEX Secretariat to ensure that all states effectively participate and contribute to food safety and the Codex process.

He believes that the discussions with representatives from different sectors in the region will help overcome the cross-border trade challenges related to standards.

He says the issue of food standards is one that has to be tackled with the involvement of different sectors. However, according to him, the producers have a big role to play just as the rest of the value chain.

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URN