FAO in Geneva Nutrition Dialogue Series - Fourth dialogue: “Bringing food safety and nutrition together through an agrifood systems approach”
Food safety and nutrition are intimately linked, yet they are typically considered in silos. To discuss this, the fourth installment of the FAO in Geneva Nutrition Dialogue Series focused on “Bringing food safety and nutrition together through an agri-food systems approach”.
Three concrete cases were presented, highlighting: the food safety journey in Bangladesh; addressing food safety in traditional markets in Nigeria; and food safety considerations of alternative foods in Singapore. Presenters and discussants from government, non-government and UN entities contributed to an informative, diverse, and stimulating discussion with concrete actions and ideas proposed to over 100 international participants from Permanent Representations, other government representatives from several countries, UN agencies, NGOs, academics, and FAO colleagues.
“The essential interdependencies between food security, food safety and healthy diets need to be recognized and considered in policymaking, programming investments and action”, said Dr Eleonora Dupouy, Food Safety Officer at FAO. She added that achieving food safety is a key step to building greater sustainability and resilience in agrifood systems. Dr Dupouy also pointed out FAO’s strategic priorities for food safety and their relevance for agrifood systems transformation on the path towards achieving the SDGs.
Dr Stella Nordhagen, Senior Technical Specialist from the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), highlighted the need to “work with traditional markets vendors to improve their food safety standards in feasible ways and ensure access to nutritious foods for consumers.”
In a session dedicated to discussing example from countries, Dr Monzur Morshed Ahmed, Member of the Food Safety Authority of Bangladesh provided the first country example for transforming food safety. His presentation described the establishment of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) in collaboration with multiple line ministries and more than 35 technical institutions, as well as a developing network of NGO’s: the Bangladesh Food Safety Network (BFSN). Dr Morshed also discussed the food system priority pathway for Bangladesh and the evolving food safety culture towards a proactive approach through the success of the multi-sectoral coordination mechanism of the BFSA.
The second example focused on addressing food safety in traditional markets to improve nutrition, and was presented by Dr Augustine Okoruwa, Head of the EatSafe Country Program at GAIN Nigeria. Dr Augustine spoke about the need of prioritizing food safety to support the SDGs. His presentation set out the challenges of food safety encountered in Nigeria and the solutions provided by the EatSafe Program to use evidence and targeted actions to achieve safe and nutritious foods.
The third case was presented by Professor William Chen, Director of Food Science and Technology in the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore. His intervention focused on the food safety considerations for alternative foods in Singapore. Professor Chen spoke about the challenges of food security in Singapore and the development of urban farming to meet the growing food demand. The presentation highlighted the inclusion of tech innovation in food safety assessment as one of the ways, to achieve food safety in urban food systems.
The discussion that followed, was facilitated by Mr Dirk Schulz, Food Safety Officer in FAO’s FAO’s Food Systems and Food Safety Division (ESF), with panelists Mr José Valls Bedeau, Policy Officer in ESF, Dr Luz María De-Regil, Head of the Multisectoral Action in Food Systems Unit in WHO and Dr Stella Nordhagen.
The recording of the fourth session of the FAO in Geneva Nutrition Dialogue Series can be seen here with the passcode: mwX@H67e. It will be made available to all registrants and posted on the FAO in Geneva webpage.
About the FAO in Geneva Nutrition Dialogue Series
The FAO in Geneva Nutrition Dialogue Series is jointly organized by the FAO Liaison Office in Geneva and the Food and Nutrition Division, in collaboration with the FAO Liaison Office in Brussels. It brings experts together to share experiences and practical insights on how intervening in agrifood systems can support better nutrition and in so doing, also support other development outcomes across the SDGs. The core component of the Nutrition Dialogue Series is sharing and discussing important work carried out on agrifood systems in Member States with support from FAO and partners.
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