St. Lucia Rep on Pan American Food Safety Commission

May 7, 2001 – Officials from Ministries of Health and Agriculture from Latin America and the Caribbean met in Brazil from May 2 – 4, 2001 for the PAHO/WHO RIMSA meeting.  Among the agenda items was a proposal for the creation of a Pan American Commission for Food Safety (COPAIA).

The Commission would urge PAHO to adopt a strategic plan on food protection for the region of the Americas, and to explore the possibilities of creating a regional body responsible for developing policies in the area of food safety.  A call has been made for the Director General to ensure greater collaboration between government agencies, producers and consumers, as well as international organizations, to develop and coordinate technical cooperation to ensure that the people of the Americas have access to safe food.

It was also agreed that assistance would be provided to CARICOM states in preparing an action plan to respond to the emergence of Foot and Mouth and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) diseases.

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