National Food Safety Strategy launched

Harare (New Ziana) -Stakeholders should continue committing adequate resources and expertise to the multi-sectorial
coordination and effective implementation of the national food safetystrategy, a senior official has said.

Health and Child Care, permanent secretary Air Commodore Dr Jasper
Chimedza said this in a speech read on his behalf director of health
services in the same Ministry, Victor Nyamandi.

He was addressing stakeholders at the launch of the national food safety
strategy in the capital on Tuesday.

Dr Chimedza said the National Food Safety Strategy is fully aligned to
the Constitution of Zimbabwe and other government policies as it puts
the protection of public health and the promotion of the ease of doing
business at the forefront.

“The government of Zimbabwe has a constitutional responsibility to
safeguard public health through measures such as developing and
implementing an official, effective, and efficient food safety
strategy,” he said.

The national food safety strategy was developed through wide and
extensive consultations among key food control management stakeholders
that included the Ministries of Health and Child Care, Agriculture,
Local Government, and the food industry.

It seeks to guide investment into desired food safety initiatives and to
strengthen the capacity of food control stakeholders to conduct food
safety risk assessments, performing risk management functions and risk
communication actions.

Speaking at the same event, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
representative Dr Berhanu Bedane said over the years, his organisation
has supported several interventions aimed at building a strong, modern
and proactive national food control system.

He said in 2017, at the request of the government of Zimbabwe through
the Ministry of Health and Child Care, FAO supported an assessment based
on the then new FAO/WHO tool for assessing national food control
systems.

“This assessment revealed several weaknesses in the Zimbabwe food
control system, which led to the design and implementation of a
Technical Corporation Programme (TCP/3602), with the Ministry of Health
and Child Care. In this support, FAO provided technical support towards
drafting of a national Food Safety Strategy, review of the national food
safety legislation and drafting of measures towards improving these,” he
said.

The programme also supported training of key frontline personnel in
aspects such as: food safety risk analysis, profiling and risk-based
food control; good hygiene practices in the meat and milk value chains,
risk based imported food control and hazardous analysis of critical
control points, said Dr Bedane.

In addition, the programme helped build the capacity of the Consumer
Council of Zimbabwe in food safety awareness and empowering consumers to
demand safe food, he said.

New Ziana