FAO Farmer Field Schools yield encouraging results in fighting antimicrobial resistance

AFRICA – FAO Farmer Field Schools (FFS) has shown that changes in animal production techniques can result in judicious antimicrobial use (AMU), safe food, and higher profit margins. Results from pilots in Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, and Zimbabwe reveal that farmers who took part in the FAO’s poultry FFS boosted their efforts in infection prevention and control while decreasing their usage…

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Codex takes its AMR Codex Texts project to Bolivia, Cambodia, Colombia, Nepal

GLOBAL – The Codex Alimentarius Commission has onboarded new members from Bolivia, Cambodia, Colombia, and Nepal to its AMR Codex Texts (ACT) project to enable the countries to fight antimicrobial resistance (AMR).  The veterinarians Jorge Berrios (Bolivia), Ana Carrizosa (Colombia), and Sakar Shivakoti (Nepal) have a wealth of knowledge in inter-institutional coordination and health management. Pisey Oum (from Cambodia) lends…

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FSSAI creates draft regulations for Genetically Modified food

INDIA – The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has created a draft set of regulations for genetically modified food, proposing that the manufacture, sale, and import of food or ingredients made from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) require prior authorization from the regulator. According to the FSSAI, GMOs created for food usage will be subject to the proposed…

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KEBS warns consumers of aflatoxin-contaminated rice

KENYA – The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), a government organization responsible for certifying locally produced and imported commodities, has alerted Kenyans to a rice brand that is unhealthy due to high aflatoxin levels. The national certification and standardization office issued a warning in a statement shared on its social media channels about the significant aflatoxin contamination of the Polla…

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Codex re-unites on-site to continue its standards-setting mandate

ITALY – The UN food standards body, the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is meeting this week to set food safety and quality standards to protect consumer health and ensure fair practices in food trade. The 45th Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC45) meeting, which is the first physical session in three years, brought together nearly 400 delegates joined by over 350…

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