The Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) celebrates the World Food Safety Day, which takes place on 7 June every year. This year’s celebration not only recognized people who help keep our food safe, but also highlighted the need to promote awareness and to take action by highlighting what everyone can do to ensure food safety. 

Food that is contaminated by pesticides or chemical residues, or tainted with bacteria, parasites and viruses, can lead to serious illnesses and even death in worst cases.

In Cambodia, food safety has become an increasingly complex challenge. Both imported and locally produced foods have been found to be contaminated with pesticides or other pollutants. Bacterial contamination is commonly found in animal source foods.

However, keeping a food safe is a complex process. It rests on how food is grown, processed, transported, stored, distributed, sold, prepared, served and consumed. FAO’s role is to address food safety issues along the food chain, particularly during production and processing.

The overarching goal of FAO’s programme in Cambodia is to contribute to eradicating poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition, and improving agricultural productivity as well as management and use of the country’s natural resources.

To meet this overarching goal, food safety is a key priority of FAO in Cambodia, as  reflected under the current 5-year Country Programming Framework (CPF), 2019-2023, particularly under the Country Outcome 1 “Increased productivity, diversification and commercialization of agriculture, including crops, livestock and aquaculture for poverty reduction and food and nutrition security”.

A strong regulatory framework and control system

Cambodia needs a strong regulatory framework and control system for food safety. In 2015, FAO provided technical support to the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) to draft a national food safety law. FAO continues to develop and strengthen capacities of key ministries, including the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), the Ministry of Commerce and its CamControl General Directorate, and relevant national authorities to perform food inspections, and develop knowledge-based infrastructure for the implementation and certification of the national Good Agriculture Practice (GAP) standard for fruits and vegetables. Cambodia received capacity support on enhancing performance and effective participation in Codex activities, related to international standards setting, where Cambodia can advocate for its national position, aiming at protecting the health of Cambodian people, while facilitating international trade of produce from Cambodia.

Actions on the ground to ensure food safety and sustainable practices among farmers

FAO has been working with local food producers to apply safe and sustainable practices, using Integrated Pest Management (IPM), an environmentally friendly approach to crop production and protection. Additionally, FAO led the implementation of  Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) for pesticide-free products and the framework of GAP, a guideline that provides food producers basic instructions that not only keep food safe but also enable them to access to markets.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Food safety issues are highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The cross-border movement of livestock and meat products is a serious food safety issue if there is no proper and regular cross-border surveillance of livestock and risk management. While there is no scientific evidence that COVID-19 is transmitted via fresh fruits, vegetables, meat from domestic livestock or food packaging, these are issues of concern for consumers. Experience in other countries shows that animal slaughter and meat-packing facilities can be hotspots for COVID-19 infection through human-to-human transmission.

During this challenging time, FAO focuses its efforts to support the RGC on strengthening technical expertise and capacity in the implementation of food safety measures and certification schemes for agricultural products in Cambodia.  The focused areas include an integration of good practice packages and certification schemes; consumer awareness and protection; a development of street food vending policy; and dissemination of good practices to vendors.

A cornerstone of ending hunger

“Food safety is everyone’s business throughout food chains, and everyone thus has a role to play, from farm to fork, to ensure the food we consume is safe and will not affect our health,” said Mr Alexandre Huynh, FAO Representative in Cambodia. “The goal of ending hunger is within reach only if food safety is also addressed,” he added. 

Along with other UN agencies, FAO is proud to be part of the efforts and commit to mainstreaming food safety in the public agenda and reducing the burden of the economic growth in the country.

“Together we can make the world a better place and enable all of us to have access to safe food for now and tomorrow,” said Mr Alexandre Huynh.