MAURITIUS – A 19 thematic e-working groups have been formed in Mauritius and tasked with reviewing existing food standards, comparing them with Codex guidelines in order to draft a new national food safety standards.
These standards will then be submitted to the Mauritius Food Standards Agency for approval. The groups were formed after a recent four-day workshop hosted by the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security of Mauritius, in partnership with WHO Mauritius.
The workshop brought together nearly 60 representatives from both the public and private sectors, marking a major step forward in the country’s food safety and trade strategy.
It sought to harmonize Mauritius’s food standards with those established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
The importance of these efforts was underscored by Indoomatee Ramma, Principal Research Scientist at the Food and Agricultural Research and Extension Institute.
“Our job is to highlight where there are gaps so that we can develop the necessary standards. If not, we risk becoming a dumping ground,” she warned. The review process will prioritize the most widely consumed foods and those posing the highest risks.
The World Health Organization has reported 600 million cases of food-borne illnesses globally each year, resulting in 420,000 deaths.
Stricter food standards are seen as the most effective way to combat this public health issue, and Mauritius is positioning itself at the forefront of this global effort.
Similarly, Dr. Sanjay Dave, a former chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and WHO consultant for the workshop, emphasized the importance of harmonizing food standards to prevent unsafe food from entering Mauritius.
He noted that according to World Trade Organization rules, food producers must meet the standards of importing countries, making it imperative for Mauritius to adopt rigorous standards.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported project to be delivered under Building Codex Mauritius has already led to the development of a national Codex procedural manual, the launch of a Codex Mauritius website, and the training of key decision-makers in Codex negotiations.
The project is Funded by the Codex Trust Fund and supported technically by WHO Mauritius and has an ambition of increasing its participation of Mauritius in the Codex Alimentarius Commission’s standard-setting processes.
As the first African country to obtain funding and technical support from the Codex Trust Fund, Mauritius’ experiences in terms of strengthening its participation in Codex negotiations and the lessons learned along the way will help pave the way for other Member States in the region striving to scale up their involvement in these global standard-setting exchanges.
Sign up to receive our email newsletters with the latest news updates and insights from Africa and the World HERE.
