The mechanisms for collection and dissermination of information about food export trade is not available and has other shorcomings such as lack of border inspections. There are also food safety and quality problems encountered with the country’s imports. The food laws and implementing authorities are in place but face constraints in implementations. The codex standards are adopted in the national standard, with minor alterations where considered necessary.
Document:International, Regional, Sub Regional and National Cooperation in Food Safety in Africa by WHO Regional Office for Africa, BP 06, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo.
Source:
FAO/WHO Regional Conference on Food Safety for Africa, Zimbabwe , 3-6 October 2005.
Extract: The Food Control Unit in Botswana is under the Community Health Services Division in the Ministry of Health, while in the Comoros , the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture are responsible for the implementation of food policy.
Extract: In Botswana the responsibilities of food control, food safety and food quality are mainly shared among four ministries. The Ministry of Health coordinates the implementation of the Food Control Act and Public Health Act (including food regulations under these Acts) through the National Food Control Board. The Codex Contact Point is in the Ministry of Health. Codex standards are used in the preparation of food regulations. The Ministry of Local Government, through the local authorities, implements the Township Act and all other Acts having provisions of food control, particularly food inspection. The Ministry of Industry and Trade implements Acts on licensing of food industries, Consumer Protection and Standardization. National food standards are prepared by the Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS) in collaboration with other key stakeholders. These standards are mainly based on Codex standards. International, regional and bilateral food control cooperation is coordinated by the National Food Control Board. There is a strong bilateral cooperation with South Africa where most of Botswana food imports come from. There are a number of consumer groups in urban areas. These groups are yet to come together under one national umbrella organization. The Consumer Protection Act, addressing consumers’ rights, is implemented by the Consumers Protection Unit in the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Food Control Act provides for consumers’ representation in the National Food Control Board. The current member representing consumers in the Board is also the chairperson of the National Codex Committee. Improving the participation of consumers in the Codex work has been a challenge due to limited resources and lack of umbrella NGO at national level.
Document: Developing and Maintaining Food Safety Control Systems for Africa, Current Status and Prospects for Change -by WHO Regional Office for Africa.
Source: Second FAO/WHO Global Forum of Food Safety Regulators - Bangkok , Thailand , 12-14 October 2004
Extract: In Botswana, the Food Control Unit is under Community Health Services Division in the Ministry of Health.
Document: Report of the Fifteenth Session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Africa.
Source: Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme Codex Alimentarius Commission, 30 June – 5 July 2003.
Extract: Several standards have been finalized and approved as Botswana Standards such as animal feeds – cattle feeds, chicken feeds, ostrich feeds, sorghum grains for human consumption, fruits and vegetables, etc. A number of regulations are under preparation including those relating to control of abattoirs and butcheries, food labelling, marketing of breast milk substitutes, etc. A number of training sessions on food hygiene (workshops and seminars) have been organized targeting the street food vendors, personnel in restaurants and consumers in general. The University of Botswana (UB) has conducted research on safety of street food in Botswana and has also published a booklet on safe handling of meat in 3 languages (English, Setswana (national language) and Ikalanga (one of the local languages)).
