Accra, June 19, GNA - Ghana is to host the 18th Session of the CODEX Coordinating Committee for Africa (CCAfrica) in February, next year. The country is also expected to coordinate the activities under the terms of reference and the strategic plan, as well as execute the CCAfrica project for the 43-member countries in Africa.

This was disclosed by Professor Samuel. Sefa-Dedeh, Chairman of the CCAfrica, at the launch of the CODEX Coordinating Committee for Africa Project in Accra on Thursday under the theme: CODEX Alimentarius - Promoting Safe Food, Quality and Fair Trade. The CODEX Alimentarius is a collection of international food standards, guidelines and codes of practice whose main purpose is to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in food trade.

Professor Sefa-Dedeh said the Codex Alimentarius Commission was a joint venture of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) with over 170 member countries. He said the purpose of the FAO/WHO food standards was to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in food trade, promote coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations, determine priorities and initiate and guide the preparation of draft standards with the aid of appropriate organizations.

The rest are finalizing standards, publishing them in Codex Alimentarius either as regional or worldwide standards together with international standards, and amending published standards as appropriate in the light of developments. He said the standards would cover foods processed, semi-processed or raw for distribution to the consumer. "Today consumers enjoy a variety of food from all over the world and there is a risk this food may be contaminated." Professor Sefa-Dedeh said the National Codex Committee which would manage the CCODEX project would be operated through the Ghana Standards Board (GSB).

Papa Owusu Ankomah, Minister of Trade, Industry, Private sector Development and President's Special Initiatives, in a speech read on his behalf said

Ghana's election as the coordinator of CCAfrica was a reward that went a long way to demonstrate how the country had been making substantial contributions to the functions. He said the lack of infrastructure in the agric sector had a negative impact on the competitiveness of its international agro-food trade.

"It is therefore necessary that Ghana adheres to conformity assessment procedures in its food and agriculture trade to ensure compliance with regulations of importing countries." Papa Owusu-Ankomah said his ministry would bring the experiences gained from similar projects to positively bear on the CODEX project.