CARICOM Member States Press CAHFSA on Numerous Agricultural Health and Food Safety Matters
Agricultural health and food safety in the Caribbean were the focus of discussions today at the series of CARICOM meetings taking place at the Biltmore in Belize City. Today’s session was the thirteenth meeting of the Board of Directors of the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency, CAHFSA. The work of that agency entails providing regional and national support in establishing and managing agricultural health and food safety systems in CARICOM member states. Chief Executive Officer Simeon Collins says member states are demanding more of CAHFSA and consequently the organization’s board had a series of matters to look at and decide upon in this week’s meeting.
Simeon Collins
Simeon Collins, C.E.O., CAHFSA
“They are asking us to host the CGPC Secretariat at the headquarters of CAHFSA. The CGPC is the regional pesticide body. So that is one of the decisions we have got to take. Another is that they are asking us who is the regional biosafety clearing-house on our website. The regional bio safely clearing-house would be used to accept first applications of any LMOs or GMOs coming into the region. So we would have to, first of all, do whatever risk analysis that is necessary and advice as to whether it should come in. We have since been made what is referred to as the regional plant protection organization for the Caribbean. Each hemisphere has a plant protection organization so we are responsible for that. We have been made the regional plant protection organization for the Caribbean. And now also what will be discussed at this meeting is the creation of what we refer to as a task force on food safety, a Caribbean task force on food safety.”
Dalila Ical
“Where does the Caribbean stand now in terms of food safety?”
Simeon Collins
“In terms of food safety, we are trying to harmonize standards and legislation as much as possible. Ok. We have for instance achieved veterinary organization CCVOs meeting; we have achieved plant health officers meeting as the name CPHD, Caribbean Plant Health Organization. We also have one in terms pesticides but we haven’t got one on food safety that would harmonize standards in that area. So this is what we are discussing now and we are hoping to put that in place to harmonize standards so that can facilitate trade but food safety in the region is a very, very important aspect of our work.”
The CARICOM meetings conclude on Friday.
