The West African Quality Programme (WAQP), Food for Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and the National Codex and Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary Committee, recently organised a two-day training workshop for inspectors in food safety, animal and plant health.

Alpha Jallow, deputising for the WHO representative, said the WHO works closely with FAO on food safety and standards with the framework of codex alimenting commission regional strategy for food safety, which calls on member states to take the lead in addressing the health aspect of food safety and hygiene. "In 2005, its World Health Assembly (WHA) passed technical guidance and support to countries developing policies and strategic plans on food hygiene and safety, stressing a multi-sectoral and comprehensive approach," he noted.

For his part, Land Vanderwal, said the FAO and Planet Health are increasing important issues in The Gambia, which is evident by the large number of people in attendance in this training. "Further effective inspection in this area is essential to ensuring a safer and more abundant food supply disease. Also for Gambian producers, fisher folk, and processors to take advantage of lucrative export markets, the government must establish a strong and effective inspecting and certificate system that can assure importing countries that we are meeting their standards," he remarked.

She also added that the importance of inspection in those areas was recognized by the National Codex, Sanitary and Phytosanitary committee who organised a workshop with the support of FAO and the West African Quality Programme on 9-10 September 2009 to assess the inspection and certification system in The Gambia. Joseph Ndene, the co-ordinator of WAQP, said his organisation's aim is to strengthen competitiveness and ensure compliance with trade rules and regulations, in particular the WTO, TBT and SPS agreements, by upgrading existing regional and national quality infrastructures.

"Although the focus of the WAQP is on the quality infrastructure, we are very aware of its important interface with the national regulatory frameworks and this is why the programme is supporting the development of the legal and institutional framework the national food control system and has also been supporting the National Control Codex and SPS committee its work in the food control system," he observed.

The deputy permanent secretary, Amadou Saine, said the ministry of Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters is pleased to be associated with this important seminar. "At the Ministry, we have the belief that food safety and animal health are very important issues for the fisheries sector as well. For as we all know that fish is one of the main sources of animal protein in the diets of people in The Gambia, as most people consume from of fish on daily basis", he revealed.

He said for these reasons, and the high priority that The Gambia Government accords the sector, the Ministry of Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters recognises that great efforts must be made to ensure safety and health of fish imported food or consumed in The Gambia. "All stakeholders in the food chain including the public and private sector, as well as consumer, have a role to play in ensuring the safety of food produced and consumed in The Gambia. Food fishermen fisherwomen, processes, and other food handlers bear the ultimate responsibility for safety food," he concluded.