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Draft Food Safety, Animal Welfare Bills being reviewed by cabinet- Min. Holder
-as CODEX Co-operation workshop gets underway
By Jarryl Bryan
The government is taking steps to have two pieces of legislation, the Food Safety and the Animal Welfare
Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder
Bills, prepared for tabling in the National Assembly, in order to prevent the spread of food borne diseases.
This is according to Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder, who was addressing a gathering at the opening of the CODEX cooperation project workshop, which was held at Cara Lodge yesterday. According to Holder, the Bills were recently prepared and presented to cabinet for perusal, consideration and approval prior to moving it to the National Assembly.
“When enacted,” he said. “The Food Safety Bill will seek to prevent the spread of food borne diseases through the control of the production, preparation, handling, storage and the transportation of food and provide for connected matters.”
“This will be achieved by the formation of a Food Safety Authority that will integrate Guyana’s fragmented Food Safety System which will enhance the work of the National Codex Committee.”
He said that Guyana has already made steps to modernize its Agricultural Health Laws with the enactment of the Animal Health, Plant Health and Seeds Acts.
Resident Chilean Ambassador Claudio Rojas Rachel noted that agriculture was a very serious part of the economy. He affirmed that Chile wanted to contribute and have an exchange in ideas and views on best practices with Guyana.
United States Ambassador Perry Holloway, also noted that the US has put US$3M towards supporting CODEX in the Caribbean and Latin America, through its US State Department of Agriculture. He stated that there have also been bilateral partnerships with other organisations.
CODEX is a grouping of international standards governing food.
The Codex Alimentarius or “Food Code” was established by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organization in 1963 to develop international food standards that protect consumer health and promote fair practices in food trade.
Today, the CAC is comprised of 188 member countries, one member Organization (EU), and more than 200 intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations. The Codex standards ensure that food is safe and can be traded.
And how can this be achieved? It is understood that the 188 Codex members would have negotiated science based recommendations in areas related to food safety and quality: food hygiene; maximum limits for food additives; residues of pesticides and veterinary drugs; and maximum limits and codes for the prevention of chemical and microbiological contamination.
It is important to note that the Codex food safety texts are a reference in World Trade Organisation (WTO) trade disputes.
Guyana became a member of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 1970 and falls within the Latin America and the Caribbean Region. Guyana’s National Codex Committee was resuscitated on March 05, 2014 through the Guyana National Bureau of Standards.
The Guyana National Bureau of Standards is the Codex Contact Point for Guyana. The National Codex Committee comprises seventeen members from sectors such as, government, non-government (NGO), private sector, and academia.
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