La mission effectuée en Bolivie par deux spécialistes cubains du contrôle des aliments dans le cadre du Programme des experts en CTPD/CTPT illustre les possibilités de transfert de compétences et de connaissances techniques d'un pays en développement vers un autre et la façon dont le pays bénéficiaire tire profit des recommandations des consultants.
Mme Olga Sánchez et M. Miguel Óscar García Roche, experts de l'Institut national cubain de nutrition et d'hygiène de La Havane, ont effectué tous deux une mission de CTPD de deux semaines auprès de l'Institut national des laboratoires de santé (INLASA) à La Paz (Bolivie). La Bolivie, soucieuse d'offrir à la population des approvisionnements alimentaires sûrs et des aliments nutritifs, accorde une attention particulière aux activités de contrôle des aliments. Le pays est très tributaire des importations alimentaires et la nourriture importée, la nourriture produite dans le pays et la nourriture exportée devraient faire l'objet d'un contrôle. Les deux experts ont dispensé des cours de formation au sujet de plusieurs aspects du contrôle des aliments aux autorités nationales boliviennes ainsi qu'aux chercheurs et au personnel du secteur agroalimentaire
Las misiones llevadas a cabo por dos expertos cubanos en control de alimentos en Bolivia dentro del Programa de Expertos CTPD/CTPT demuestran cómo un país en desarrollo puede transferir sus experiencias y conocimientos técnicos a otro y cómo el país beneficiario ha empleado positivamente las recomendaciones de los consultores.
La Dra. Olga Sánchez y el Dr. Óscar García Roche, del Instituto Nacional Cubano de Nutrición e Higiene de La Habana, realizaron cada uno una misión de dos semanas de CTPD en el Instituto Nacional de Laboratorios de Salud (INLASA) situado en La Paz, Bolivia.
Las actividades de control de los alimentos son objeto de especial atención en Bolivia dada la necesidad de aportar un suministro alimentario inocuo y nutritivo a su población. El país depende mucho de las importaciones de alimentos y tanto éstos, como los alimentos de producción nacional y los destinados a la exportación necesitan de control. Los dos expertos cubanos imparten cursillos de capacitación sobre distintos aspectos del control de alimentos a las autoridades nacionales bolivianas, a los investigadores y al personal de la industria alimentaria.
The assignments carried out by two Cuban food control experts in Bolivia under the TCDC/TCCT Experts Programme exemplify how one developing country transferred its technical skills and knowledge to another and how the beneficiary country made good use of the consultants' recommendations.
Olga Sánchez and Miguel Óscar García Roche, experts at the Cuban National Institute of Nutrition and Hygiene in Havana, each carried out a two-week TCDC assignment at the National Institute of Health Laboratories (INLASA) in La Paz, Bolivia. Food control activities are receiving particular attention in Boliva owing to the need to provide a safe and nutritious food supply to the population. The country relies heavily on food imports, and imported food, nationally produced food and food for export should be controlled. The two experts gave training courses on different aspects of food control to the Bolivian national authorities and to researchers and staff from the food industry.
At the request of the National Codex Committee, Sánchez gave two courses on mycotoxins during her assignment in Bolivia. The first was a practical training course on the analysis of mycotoxins in food for the staff of the Food Laboratories Network, which includes government, private and university research laboratories in Bolivia. This course included analysis of mycotoxins in food by thin-layer chromatography and demonstration sessions on methods such as the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and other simplified methods. The expert's theoretical training course was attended by some 50 participants from government, industry and university research institutions. It covered the sanitary and economic importance of mycotoxins in food, the main food mycotoxins, biosynthesis of mycotoxins and their toxic effects, sampling methods, methodologies for food decontamination and risk evaluation of mycotoxins in food.
García Roche's assignment focused on the control of additives in food. His first course trained staff of the Food Laboratories Network in Bolivia as well as members of the National Codex Committee in the implementation of methods of analysis of additives in food and the preparation of a programme for their control. His second course covered the toxicity of additives in food and the Codex Alimentarius recommendations. The Codex Alimentarius is a collection of international food standards that have been adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the highest international body on global food standards. The expert also advised a preparatory meeting on the creation of a Bolivian Association of Food Science and Technology.
On the basis of these training courses and the recommendations made by the two Cuban experts, the Bolivian national authorities were able to initiate a pilot programme for the monitoring of mycotoxins in priority foods such as cereals and the control of food additives. The recent experience gained from these pilot monitoring programmes is facilitating the participation of Bolivian professionals in food trade negotiations.