A MoAg seminar on Codex Alimentarius and a MoE&T event on food quality control

The Ministry of Agriculture organized yesterday a national seminar on food protocol (Codex Alimentarius) which is implemented and developed in Lebanon with the support of the FAO.  The food protocol is the outcome of a similarly named international al organisation created by both FAO and the WHO in order to develop food safety standards taking which takes into consideration health and hygiene and the international food trade standards. The international protocol was adopted by the Ministry of Agriculture four years ago in order to set up standards that are specific to food products.

The FAO representative, Mohammed Momen, kicked off the seminar by expanding on the importance of collaboration between FAO and Lebanon in what concerns the Food Protocol and the importance of the regular meeting held every three years to operationalise international standards so as to safeguard human health.  He added that Lebanon is maintaining international standards as much as possible and is constant liaison with FAO and other international organizations concerned with human health and nutrition.

Minister Haj Hassan noted for his part that the importance of this event which aims to familiarize public and private institutions with the Food Protocol while stressing the importance of meeting these international standards.  He added that his Ministry is hoping that Lebanon will be able to adhere to international standards and be able to take decisions regarding food, agriculture and animal husbandry at the highest international levels.  He indicated that international standards are being applied on imports and hopefully will in the future apply with equal care on exports.  Haj Hassan highlighted that his Ministry has made strides recently to ensure that Lebanon becomes more fully integrated in regional trade.

In a related vein, the Ministry of Economy and Trade (MoE&T) is organising within the framework of the International Day of the Consumer for 2014, a competition amongst Lebanese Universities entitled “Innovation in Food Safety” which first phase will kick off next Saturday with four evaluation sessions to assess scientific research projects submitted by university students.  The final results of the competition will be announced during an official ceremony on March 13rth 2014.  To be noted that this event seeks to strengthen collaboration between the university education sector and the practical sector through developing a comprehensive programme to improve quality and safety of food products offered to the Lebanese consumer.  Students participating in this competition will come from various specialties namely agriculture, nutrition, food safety and quality control, food science and technology, from the following universities; American University for Technology, Beirut Arab University, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Global University, German Lebanese University, Lebanese American University, International Lebanese University, Manar University in Tripoli, and Haigazian University.
Source: Al-Diyar, Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Diyar 6 February 2014