TOGO – Togo has officially launched the first edition of the Togo Food Safety Week which is set to take place in the country’s capital city Lomé as from August 19 to 21, 2021.

The ceremony was chaired by Mr. Koffi MENSAH, Private Sector Support Director on behalf of the Minister of Trade, Industry and Local Consumption, in the presence of the Technical Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture and Development Rural as well as promoters of local products and services.

The event, themed “agro-entrepreneurship and the integration of the quality approach for a sustainable local consumption” will gather local production actors, including producers, craftsmen, processors and other actors of the Togolese agrofood chain.

It will be a matter of building the capacities of actors on quality approaches and certification procedures in order to further promote local products.

According to Jean Paul Dimitri TAKO, Promoter of the “Je consommé Local” (I consume local) Platform and organizer of Togo Food Safety Week , this is one of the actions the government is taking to reassure consumers that beyond the marketing aspect and communication, it ascertains that the products offered to them are healthy, nutritious and meet standards.

“We took it upon ourselves to promote local products. We cannot promote products that suffer from quality. We initiated this project to motivate producers to opt for the quality approach in their productions”, explained Jean

In his launching speech, the Minister’s representative congratulated officials of the Platform “I CONSUME LOCAL , initiators and organizers which is at its third edition this year.

He indicated that the event was in line with the government policy which seeks to make local consumption, a real tool for the socio-economic development of the country and a job creator, especially for women and young people.

For Mr. MENSAH, the organization of Food Safety Week in Togo was timely in that it was held less than three months from the Second Edition of the Month of Local Consumption.

This event will undoubtedly make it possible to review the various risks that exist throughout the various stages of the supply chains, from production on the farm to slaughter or harvest, including the process of processing, storage, transport and distribution.

Throughout the said week, agripreneurs will have the opportunity to showcase their business, products and services. 

Togo Food Safety Week will thus raise public awareness of food safety issues, create a permanent framework for actors in the food chain and promote solutions as well as appropriate means to strengthen food safety.

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