To strengthen Cambodia capacity for better and effective participation in Codex work, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), under the regional project “Support for Capacity Building for International Food Safety Standard Development and Implementation in ASEAN Countries” , organized a training workshop for three days from 18 to 20 February 2020 in collaboration with General Directorate of CAMCONTROL, Ministry of Commerce. .

A total of 40 officials from various sectors including government officials from CAMCONTROL, as the national Codex Contact Point, relevant ministries, and representatives from the food industry, participated in this important workshop, which was facilitated by FAO experts from Italy and the Philippines, as well as FAO officers from the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.

“Protecting consumer health and facilitating fair trade” are the two key objectives of the Codex Alimentarius, an international food standard setting body, developing various food standards, guidelines and codes of practice.

Practical food standards and local consumer health protection in the making

The development of these Codex texts are the sole responsibility of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC).  The Codex covers standards for all principal foods, having established over 200 food standards and more than 100 guidelines and codes of practices, of which many are being used as reference for national food laws, regulations and standards development and implementation. Reference is made to Codex food safety standards in the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures (SPS Agreement) for example, illustrating it important function in international trade matters. 

The significance of food safety is only growing in recent times both for the public and the governments, and it is high in the agenda at the international, regional, and national levels. Each country is responsible for setting its own food safety measures for protecting public health and facilitating trade expansion. To achieve this, effective food safety laws, regulations and strategies all along the value chain must be in place and enforced. Cambodia rice exports have already been affected in the past by the imposition of stricter sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards from destination countries, highlighting the importance to better equip the country in that regard.

It is also necessary that such domestic measures produced by each country are aligned with international standards. It is recognized that some measures are established at an appropriate level for public health protection. However, others may be too strict, therefore acting as trade barriers, limiting the capacity of a country to export to another country where these measures are in place. In this regard, internationally recognized food safety standards are essential as a baseline to set up adequate national food safety measures. Complying with international standards not only improves food safety for the consumers but also avoids creating technical barriers to trade.

As a member of the Codex Alimentarius, Cambodia is entitled and could benefit from actively participating in CAC activities. To that end, having relevant knowledge is essential, including a complete understanding of the structure and function of the CAC and its subsidiary bodies, Codex rules and procedures. This would allow Cambodia to better plan for Codex participation and improve preparedness of Codex delegations. 

As noted by Mr Alexandre Huynh, the FAO Representative in Cambodia, “the better performance and effective participation of Cambodia in the international standards setting process is critical in the success of advocating for its national position, aiming not only to protect the health of consumers in the country, but also to improve its international markets opportunities.”

At the opening remarks, H.E. Pan Sorasak, Minister of Commerce, emphasized the significance of the Codex and commented, “We should be well prepared through strengthening technical capacity to be able to increase the participation in the Codex meetings to ensure quality food for everyone.”

Hands-on experience: a “mock” session

To strengthen the capacity on Codex participation for government officials and stakeholders of Cambodia, the highlight of the workshop was the mock session, a practical learning process allowing participants to understand how the Codex works, how to prepare, present and promote national positions in Codex Committees, and develop negotiation skills through a real Codex committee session. Participants were divided into four “countries”, and went through the hypothetical Codex agenda items to develop their positions, and make relevant interventions in the mock session.

Some participants, especially from the food industry, stated they were not familiar with the Codex, but all agreed that it was very important for Cambodia and at the international level.

Participants actively engaged in the workshop and a number of follow-up actions were agreed upon, such as further sharing and transferring knowledge to other relevant groups of people, particularly in the private sector and consumers’ groups. The national Codex focal point will be mainly responsible for the development of knowledge products to further disseminate information about the Codex and continuing to improve communication actions to keep updated information flowing amongst pears, stakeholders, and networks. 

The fight for food safety in Cambodia

Available and accessible safe and nutritious food is key to the health and well-being of individuals, who can in turn lead healthy lives and contribute to the development of the country and to economic growth. Therefore, the push overall improvement and innovation, including the support for establishment of standards for food products and services, while enhancing their quality, is a priority of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), according to H.E. Pan Sorasak. 

The RGC recognizes that small-scale farming is still the back-bone of food security in the country, and thus, their role in contributing to a safe and sustainable food value chain in Cambodia.

In line with policies of the RGC, FAO supports Cambodia to address food safety in different manners. “For food quality, there are two key elements: safety and nutrition. We are focusing our actions in the support of good practices for food safety throughout the value chain, from farm to fork, and the role of standards and references to measure these two qualities is critical”, said Alexandre Huynh. 

At the country level, FAO provided technical support to the draft of national food safety law, developed the knowledge-based infrastructure for implementation and certification of the national Good Agriculture Practice (GAP) standards for fruits and vegetables. FAO introduced and led the application of Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) for pesticide-free products, and the development of the street food policy, and pesticide labelling guidelines.