The Government of Liberia, through the Food Authority of Liberia (FAL), has formally launched the Liberian Food Safety Coordination Committee (LFSCC), marking a significant milestone in the country's efforts to modernize food safety governance, protect consumers, and improve trade competitiveness.
The LFSCC was inaugurated during its first meeting, where stakeholders from government, the private sector, academia, civil society, and development partners convened to chart the committee's course.
Delivering her welcome remarks, the Committee's Chairperson and Director-General of the Food Authority of Liberia underscored the importance of the platform, noting that effective food safety governance requires collective action and cannot rest on a single institution.
The committee is mandated to guide national food safety policy and oversee the modernization of food safety laws and regulations.
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Its mandate also includes coordinating institutional efforts to eliminate duplication and strengthen accountability, promoting public education, awareness, and broad stakeholder engagement, and representing Liberia's food safety interests at regional and international forums.
At the inaugural session, members formally adopted the LFSCC Terms of Reference, elected a private sector Co-Chair, and agreed on coordination and decision-making arrangements.
The newly elected Co-Chair, representing the Liberia Chamber of Commerce, reaffirmed the private sector's commitment to the committee's mission across the food value chain, from production to distribution, and called for collaboration that builds lasting trust in Liberia's food system.
The establishment and early operations of the Liberian Food Safety Coordination Committee are being supported by the Liberian Food Safety Initiative (LiFSI), a project funded by the European Union under the Global Gateway framework.
Through this support, LiFSI is providing technical and secretariat assistance to the LFSCC during its foundational phase, helping to build the institutional capacity and operational systems needed for the committee to function effectively as a long-term national coordination mechanism.
This support will continue through December 2027, by which time the LFSCC is expected to be firmly anchored within Liberia's food safety governance architecture and adequately resourced to sustain its mandate independently.
Participants at the inaugural session included representatives from the Ministry of Health, National Public Health Institute of Liberia, Liberia Standards Authority, Food Authority of Liberia, National Commission for Higher Education, and the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority.
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The initiative is implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and funded by the European Union Delegation to Liberia (EUDEL).
