On 7 June, FAO will host a World Food Safety Day event called “Assessing food safety and plant health in 11 countries in Africa: a panel discussion”. Event participants will discuss a project that is providing countries with technical support toward strengthening food control and phytosanitary capacities and governance. The project is led by a team of food safety experts from FAO’s Food Systems and Food Safety Division, with support from the IPPC Secretariat. The event will include two panel discussions followed by a question-and-answer session.

The first panel discussion will explore the aims and potential benefits of the EU-funded project, which is being implemented in 11 countries members of the African Union. Panel members will include FAO’s Catherine Bessy, Senior Food Safety Officer, Sarah Brunel, Implementation and Facilitation Unit Lead at the International Plant protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat, Eulade Mboneye, Attaché from the Delegation of the European Union to the African Union and John Oppong-Otoo, Food Safety Officer, at the African Union’s InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR).

In the second panel, contributors will share their experiences from countries where the project is being implemented. During the “voices from the field” discussion, the audience will hear from Khurun Poojanraj from the Ministry of Agriculture in Mauritius, Alexis Kabayiza of the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Rwanda and Guy Morel on behalf of Naomi Laurence from the Public Health Authority of the Seychelles and

After the Q&A session, Máximo Torero Cullen, FAO’s Chief Economist, will provide closing remarks.

Date:    7 June 2023
Time:    11.00 hours CEST

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