Alexandria, Egypt - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in cooperation with the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality, are holding today a workshop in Alexandria entitled "Supporting Codex Capacity in Egypt" to strengthen the structure and program of Codex in Egypt, to improve the food import control system in the country in order to facilitate trade and ensure food safety.

The three-day workshop falls within the context of the public and private partnership, under the supervision of the Egyptian Codex Contact Point, which is under the umbrella the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality, in collaboration with food safety experts from FAO.

Participants included representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade, the National Authority for Food Safety, the Veterinary Services Authority, the Faculty of Agriculture of Alexandria University, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Alexandria University, the Faculty of Agriculture of Tanta University, and a representative of the Chamber of Food Industries and Companies, representatives of government agencies related to Codex work, as well as experts from FAO.

Ashraf Afifi, Chairman of the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality and Chairman of the Egyptian Codex Committee, said: "Egypt is one of the first Arab countries to join the Codex Committee since its inception, and the Egyptian Committee for Codex was established in 1973. The International Codex Committee, which is under the Food Standards Department of the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality, which I am honored to chair, comprises all relevant governmental, academic and research authorities, representatives of the private and public sector and consumer protection associations".

“This workshop is unique and builds on the success of the first workshop held in Cairo last October, which was followed by an assessment of all Codex activities in Egypt. In collaboration with FAO, this workshop in Alexandria – the second largest governorate in Egypt - was organized to maximize the participation of all national entities in Codex activities.

Saber Mansour, FAO food safety expert, commented: “Food safety and fair trade practices are the two pillars on which Codex texts are built. Food safety in Egypt will only be achieved through integration between the public and private sector. All the partners cooperated and benefited from the available scientific and practical academic expertise represented in universities, research centers and others along with the industrial and productive sectors. It was an opportunity to join efforts to support decision makers to incorporate Codex in national food safety policies in Egypt, which will ultimately affect the health and safety of consumers, and facilitate trade between Egypt and the world.

Leadership in Codex

The Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality seeks to lead Codex activities in alignment with regional and international frameworks. Several important steps have been initiated for continuous improvement through the implementation of workshops that support the Egyptian Codex infrastructure within the work of the Codex Working Group of the Arab Initiative for Food Safety and trade facilitation within the SAFE project that is funded by UNIDO. Egypt also sought to be a Center of Excellence to cooperate with all Arab countries in this regard. Therefore, it hosted workshops with the participation of Sudan and Yemen, as well as representatives of the Codex Alimentarius in Egypt, with the purpose of supporting Codex in the Arab States through the application of the Codex Alimentarius Guidelines for Arab States issued by the Codex Working Group.

Hanan Fouad, Director of the Food Standards Department and Rapporteur of the Egyptian Codex Committee, said: “The workshop aims at strengthening the capacity of Codex in Egypt and raising awareness of Codex-related stakeholders on the Codex system in relation to Codex at the regional and international levels, in addition to identifying strengths and weaknesses and working to improve the weaknesses of the Egyptian Codex system".