Eatsafe Webinar IV- Food Safety Oversight and Governance: Building a National Food Safety System That Works for Consumers
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In 2019, the World Bank released a report entitled The Safe Food Imperative. It described how food safety is linked to achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development goals in both direct and indirect ways. It said the “Food and nutritional security are realized only when the essential elements of a healthy diet are safe to eat, and when consumers recognize this”.
The report outlined how government can play a vital role in protecting consumers from unsafe food. It identified common shortcomings in the national food safety systems in low and middle-income countries, including the lack a national food safety policy and prioritized investments; a focus on hazard rather than risk; the lack of clarity around the regulations and standards; the fragmentation of institutional responsibilities for market surveillance and inspections; the gaps in laboratory capacity and systems for tracking foodborne pathogens; lack of effective consumer and industry engagement on food safety; and the absence of import controls.
This Webinar will bring together experts in the field to discuss the current state of food safety governance in the African region. This webinar will explore:
• What is the state of national food safety systems in the African region?
• How can we incentivize countries in the African region to pay more attention to food safety governance?
• Are there oversight structures that are most effective for local food safety controls, targeting the informal sector and for consumers?
• What current efforts is the African Union leading and how effective are those efforts?
• Are there private sector initiatives that can impact food safety in informal markets?
Speakers
Bonnie McClafferty
Director, Food Safety
GAIN - Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
Bonnie is the Director of Food Safety at GAIN and is based in Washington DC. Bonnie has more than twenty years' experience working in agricultural research and development within the institutes that make up the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), under the World Bank.
Caroline Smith Dewaal
Deputy Director, EatSafe
GAIN - Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
In 2020, Caroline joined the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) as Deputy Director of EatSafe, a new food safety program funded by USAID.
Prior to joining GAIN, Caroline was international food safety manager at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. While at FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, she managed bilateral activities with Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the European Commission, including facilitating emergency communication on food contamination events. She also served as the Alternate Delegate, representing the United States at the Codex Committee on Food Inspection and Certification Systems, and participated on the U.S. delegations to the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene and the Codex Committee on Veterinary Drug Residues in Food.
Amare Ayalew
Manager of the Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa
African Union
Dr. Amare Ayalew is Program Manager of the Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA) at the African Union Commission since 2013. He has led PACA’s strategic planning, launch and implementation of country and regional programs, continental and global advocacy in aflatoxin control and broader food safety, as well as generation of locally relevant evidence through the launch of the Africa Aflatoxin Information Management System (AfricaAIMS) and the Africa Food Safety Index (AFSI). Prior to joining PACA Dr. Ayalew had served as associate Professor of Plant Pathology and Head of School of Plant Sciences as well as Team Leader of the Crop Protection Research at Haramaya University, Ethiopia. Dr Ayalew has researched the occurrence, epidemiology, and management of aflatoxins and other mycotoxins as well as a broad range of agriculture and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Issues for over 20 years and has published extensively.
Pawan Agarwal
Former CEO
FSSAI India
Pawan Agarwal is currently the Special Secretary (Logistics) in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in India. Earlier, he served as CEO, FSSAI (Food Safety & Standards Authority of India) for four years. In this role, he brought about transformative changes in country’s food system and launched the ‘Eat Right India’ movement. This movement was named as ‘Top Visionary’ by Rockefeller Foundation for the Food Vision 2020 Prize.
He has been Fulbright New Century Scholar at Harvard University and Emory University and a visiting scholar at ICRIER, New Delhi and in the University of Melbourne. He has published on a range of issues including two authoritative and well-regarded books, ‘Eat Right: Food System Approach’ and ‘Indian Higher Education: Envisioning the Future’.
Steve Jaffee
Former Lead Rural Development Specialist at World Bank and Current Professor at University of Maryland
University of Maryland
Dr. Steven Jaffee is a Lecturer at the University of Maryland’s Agricultural and Resource Economics Department, and otherwise, an independent advisor and researcher. He recently retired from the World Bank where he worked for twenty-nine years. His research, policy and investment project work has spanned many themes including food security, food safety, agricultural risk management, agricultural policy, value chain development, and trade and standards compliance. He has had extensive field and policy experience in Africa and Southeast Asia. He led the team which recently produced The Safe Food Imperative: Accelerating Progress in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. During the past several years, he has co-led major regional studies related to emerging Asia and (i) rice and food security, (ii) urban food systems, (iii) agri-food system transformation, (iv) agricultural pollution, and (iv) reducing the environmental footprint of export agriculture
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