During a Webinar hosted by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) on 27 July 2021, the Coalition for Action for Safe Food for All was officially launched.
The new Coalition aims at featuring food safety as an essential element of the United Nations Food Systems Summit Action Track 1, Ensure access to safe and nutritious food for all. During the event moderated by Caroline Smith DeWaal, Deputy Director of EatSafe, the two co-chairs of the Action Track 1, Pawan Agarwal and Delia Grace, announced the coalition’s inception. Pawan Agarwal holds the position of Special Secretary (Logistics), Ministry of Commerce and Industry for the Government of India.
Delia Grace is Program Leader (joint) Animal and Human Health at the International Livestock Research Institute.
The Coalition for Action for Safe Food for All is still in its formation phase. It will be managed by GAIN’s Bonnie McClafferty based on concrete food safety ideas and concepts collected by Action Track 1.
"Coalitions will align the priorities from the dialogues with the ideas from the action tracks and elsewhere. For example, we know that 20 or 30 countries have set so far hunger reduction as one of their priorities," says Lawrence Haddad, GAIN’s Executive Director, who chairs Action Track 1.
"We have asked businesses to sign to a zero hunger business pledge, and we have a lot of civil society organizations interested in joining: all the big ones you would think about, but lots of unusual ones as well – and then the three Rome based agencies obviously as our north stars."
In a market people stand near a fish stall while the fish is being broken and served. © Unsplash/ Wasis Riyan
The Coalition for Action for Safe Food for All is still in its formation phase. It will be managed by GAIN’s Bonnie McClafferty based on concrete food safety ideas and concepts collected by Action Track 1.
Panelists at the launch event included:
Meghan Rhodes, Acting Director of the Center of Nutrition in the Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, USAID
"Food safety is a priority across the whole food system, from beginning to end. We must address food safety holistically via an integrated food systems approach to support the most vulnerable populations, including women and children. We cannot achieve our overarching goal of food security and improved nutrition without safe food."
Nuraini Binti Ghaifullah, Senior Assistant Director, Food Safety & Quality Division, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
"The idea of a specific SDG indicator for food safety is an excellent call for stronger accountabilities and reducing countries’ health and economic burden from unsafe food. Malaysia has always been highly committed in the area of food safety at regional and international level, and strong supportive for the establishment of food safety indicator in the SDGs. With the high-level commitment through the UN Food System Summit, we hope food safety can be better positioned at international and national governance."
Steve Wearne, Director Global Affairs, Food Standards Agency & Vice-Chair of the Codex Alimentarius Commission
"As World Food Safety Day has told us, “food safety is everyone’s business”. Codex, as the international standard setting body for food safety and quality, works with member countries and observers to develop robust, relevant and timely standards. Work is then needed to translate these into practice everywhere that food is produced, processed, sold or consumed. What role could you play in a Coalition for Action?"
Food Safety is everyone’s business, it is through constant collective efforts that food safety can be achieved.