Latin America and Africa coordinate regional positions prior to the Codex Alimentarius meeting
San Jose. With the aim of taking a more active role in global discussions on food safety, representatives from Latin American, Caribbean and African nations met to define topics of common interest and to facilitate inter-regional work in preparation for the next meeting of the Codex Alimentarius, which will take place this month, in France.
More than 50 specialists from the Codex Coordinating Committees for Latin America and the Caribbean (CCLAC) and Africa (CCAFRICA) took part in a colloquium in the United States to coordinate their positions on general food safety principles, in preparation for the forthcoming negotiations at the global meeting on April 11-15 in Paris.
The event was organized by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) with the support of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
According to Eric Bolaños, IICA’s Agricultural Health and Food Safety Specialist, these discussions seek to promote closer ties between the CCLAC, the CCAFRICA and North America, and to facilitate dialogue on the strategic themes covered by the Codex.
Africa was represented by delegates from Senegal, Kenya, Guinea, Cameroon, Ghana, Mali and Tanzania. The Latin American representatives included delegates from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, while the Caribbean was represented by delegates from Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago, who participated along with representatives of the United States and Canada.
The colloquium was also attended by two vice-presidents of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and delegates of regional organizations.
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