STANDARDS IN FOCUS

Jan 28, 2018 Standards in Focus

CODEX STANDARDS ARE BENEFICIAL TO THE LOCAL FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SECTORS
The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) which functions as the Codex Contact Point has been facilitating the development of standards relating to food and agriculture to enhance the products, services and systems of these sectors.
A key international partner in this effort is the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). The CAC was established in 1962 to implement the Joint Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)/ World Health Organisation (WHO) Food Standards Programme.
Implementation of Codex standards is voluntary, and the translation of these standards into national legislations or regulations is required for their enforcement, Implementation and enforcement of these standards ensure the fair trade of safe foods.
Codex standards offer science-based recommendations in all areas related to food safety and quality; and they are referenced in World Trade Organisation (WTO) trade negotiations.
Guyana became a member to CAC in 1970 and subsequently the GNBS was identified as the National Codex Contact Point (NCCP). The NCCP acts as the Secretariat for the CAC; meaning that it coordinates ‘ALL’ Codex activities within Guyana and it is the major communication link between the CAC and Guyana.
To expedite the work of Codex, a National Codex Committee (NCC) was established. This Committee’s mandate is to facilitate national discussions on food safety issues affecting local producers and consumers with the aim of contributing to the discussions during the development of Codex standards.
The NCC has a formalized structure and its members include representatives from the Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Inter-American Institute for Corporation on Agriculture, Guyana Consumer Association, Faculty of Natural Sciences and the Guyana Manufacturers Services Association.
The NCC meets monthly to discuss and develop recommendations relating to food safety issues and to formalize its position on Codex matters that may directly affect local producers.
Recently, the NCC met to discuss ways to encourage producers to use the two available Guyana Standards (Specification for Packaged natural coconut water and the Code of Practice for Packaged natural coconut water) which if implemented can result in the production of quality coconut water, good enough for sale in Regional and International markets.
Additionally, the NCC is seeking to collaborate with different food safety agencies as a means of reaching food handlers to sensitize them on the use of Codex standards as a way of improving their food handling practices.
Meanwhile, the recent South-South Cooperation Project, which concluded last year, provided an opportunity for Guyana to build its capacity in Codex.
Through this project, Guyana benefitted from technical support that gave rise to a five-year Strategic plan for Codex activities in Guyana. One of the activities outlined in the strategic plan is the conduct of workshops with local stake holders to educate them on the benefits of conforming to Codex Standards. Food handlers, manufacturers, processors and vendors can benefit tremendously from these workshops.
Free copies of Codex standards can be downloaded from the Codex website:http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/home/en/.
For further information, contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0062, 219-0065 or 219-0069. Please visit our website: www.gnbsgy.org and like our Facebook page: gnbsgy

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