The National Codex/Sanitary and Phytosanitary Committee, under the FAO- funded Biosecurity Support Project, yesterday organized a one-day seminar for media practitioners on food safety at the NaNA conference Hall in Bakau.

Centered on the theme "The role of the media in The Gambia's food safety and control system - the need for increasing consumer awareness", the seminar was aimed at sensitizing media practitioners on the food control system so as to strategize for increased greater public awareness.

The workshop, that brought together journalists from both the print and electronic media, was punctuated by presentations on the Food Act, importance of food standards and safety measures in protecting consumer health and the expectations from the Gambia media practitioners in contributing to greater public awareness of food safety issues. Delivering the opening remarks, Dr Omar Touray, chairperson of the National Codex/Sanitary and Phytosanitary Committee, spoke at length on the role of the committee in mainstreaming food safety standards as stipulated by the Food Act of 2005.

Dr Touray described the seminar vital for the operations of the NCC, noting that without adequate dissemination of information, the work of NCC will not yield fruits. He also emphasized the crucial role of media practitioners in enhancing public awareness particularly on food safety and consumer health.

Deputizing for the chairperson of Food Control Board, Modou C. Phall, executive director of the National Nutrition Agency and NCC contact5 person, reminded the media practitioners that they are putting on the cap of journalists as well as that of consumers. As such, he noted, that they have a crucial role to play in defending consumer rights. Speaking on the repercussions of consuming poor quality foods, Mr Phall remarked that there can be no socio-economic development without a health populace.

He then called on journalists to maximize public awareness through their various media outlets so that the gap between knowledge and practice could be narrowed. He also challenged media practitioners to get accurate information from the right authorities with regard to advertisement on food items.

For his part, Pa Modou Fall, deputizing for the Gambia Press Union president, seized the opportunity to assure the gathering of the willingness and commitment of the media to be associated with NCC in the food safety awareness campaign. Pa Modou disclosed that since food safety is everybody's concern, consumers are hungry for news on the latest food safety, nutrition studies and what control systems are available. He went on to emphasize the need to equip journalists with the adequate tools and information in order to enable them to efficiently perform their duties in the awareness campaign.