Related Information
	FAO Nutrition and Consumer Protection Division
	WHO Food Safety Department
	Codex Alimentarius Commission
FAO/WHO Food Safety Events
	2nd Global Forum of Food Safety Regulators
	1st Global Forum of Food Safety Regulators
	Pan European Conference on Food Safety and Quality
	Regional Conference on Food Safety for Asia and the Pacific
	Near East Regional Meeting on Food Safety

FAO/WHO Regional Conference on Food Safety for Africa

This Conference is part of a series of regional conferences on food safety that FAO and WHO are convening in response to requests from member countries for policy advice and capacity building in food safety management. The first in this series was held in the European region (Budapest, 25 to 28 February 2002), and the second for the Asian and Pacific Region (Seremban, Malaysia, 24 to 27 May 2004). The 15th session of the Codex Coordinating Committee for Africa (Kampala, Uganda, 26 to 29 November 2002) "unanimously called for regional follow-up to the FAO/WHO Global Forum for Food Safety Regulators (Marrakesh, Morocco, 28 to 30 January 2002)". The Committee further stated that "because of the importance of the subject matter and the particular problems facing Africa as a region, the need for exchange of experiences and information in the region along the lines of the Global Forum is highly important."

This African Regional Conference will work to:

• Facilitate dynamic and sustainable communication on continuing and emerging food safety issues important to all countries of the African region and identify harmonized, practical and sustainable actions to address these issues;
• Identify opportunities for improving international and regional cooperation in promoting food safety in order to protect consumers and their health and to develop positive food trade relations, taking into account the prevailing conditions in the entire food chain;
• Promote the strengthening and/or the establishment of regional and sub-regional networks for the exchange of food safety related information and experiences among all stakeholders;
• Encourage public/private partnerships for consumer awareness raising, capacity building, and food safety issues in general;
• Identify strengths in specific subjects of food safety within the region and means to utilize these strengths as part of an over-arching policy to continuously improve food safety.