{"id":7180,"date":"2025-06-06T12:59:20","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T12:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fci4africa.eu\/?p=7180"},"modified":"2025-08-18T11:18:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T11:18:14","slug":"fci4africa-at-world-food-safety-day-symposium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fci4africa.eu\/sw\/fci4africa-at-world-food-safety-day-symposium\/","title":{"rendered":"FCI4Africa at World Food Safety Day Symposium"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"7180\" class=\"elementor elementor-7180\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2d28c2f6 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"2d28c2f6\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1d146c5e sc_fly_static elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1d146c5e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4>To mark this year\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/campaigns\/world-food-safety-day\/2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">World Food Safety Day<\/a>, four EU-funded projects &#8211; FCI4Africa, <a href=\"https:\/\/foodsafety4africa.eu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">FoodSafety4Africa<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/uprisefoodsafety.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">UP-RISE<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/hd4a.eu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">HealthyDiets4Africa<\/a> &#8211; jointly co-organised the <strong>World Food Safety Day Symposium for Next Gen Food Safety Practitioners<\/strong> on June 4-5, 2025.<\/h4>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fci4africa.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/WFSD25_landscape-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\"><\/p>\n<p>The collaborative online event aimed at:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Highlighting the <strong>crucial role of science<\/strong> in building food safety systems across Africa.<\/li>\n<li>Fostering <strong>meaningful dialogue<\/strong> and <strong>knowledge exchange<\/strong> among researchers, policymakers, and project stakeholders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With over <strong>200 registrations<\/strong>, the event demonstrated strong engagement from the food safety and nutrition communities. <strong>Day One<\/strong> brought together <strong>96 participants<\/strong> for lively and interactive sessions, while <strong>Day Two<\/strong> saw <strong>65 attendees<\/strong> actively participating in poster presentations led by early career researchers.<\/p>\n<p>The 2025 theme, <strong>\u201cScience in Action\u201d<\/strong>, was central to the Symposium, showcasing how scientific research is shaping food safety policies, practices, and solutions across the continent.<\/p>\n<p><strong style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 25px; font-style: normal;\">FCI4Africa in Action: Contributing Science, Strategy, and Solutions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As one of the co-organisers, FCI4Africa played a key role in both the strategic framing and scientific content of the event. The project aims to foster fair food and trade systems through Food Convergence Innovation, accelerating the shift toward sustainable, healthy, and inclusive food systems in Africa.<\/p>\n<p><strong style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; font-style: normal;\">Project Presentation by Shiferaw Feleke<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fci4africa.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Speakers-1024x544.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"544\"><\/p>\n<p>On June 4, <strong>Shiferaw Feleke<\/strong>, FCI4Africa\u2019s Coordinator from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iita.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">International Institute of Tropical Agriculture<\/a> (IITA, Tanzania), presented an overview of our Consortium, highlighting the project\u2019s:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rationale and goals<\/li>\n<li>Systemic approach to innovation<\/li>\n<li>Focus on science-based policy influence<\/li>\n<li>Expected outcomes for resilient, climate-neutral, and equitable food systems<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>His presentation underscored how FCI4Africa is working to bridge science, policy, and practice across African food value chains.<\/p>\n<p><strong style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; font-style: normal;\">Poster Presentations<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On June 5, FCI4Africa researchers shared new scientific insights during the poster presentation sessions:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ilboudo Inoussa<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.univ-bobo.gov.bf\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Universit\u00e9 Nazi Boni<\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/ansseat.bf\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">ANSSEAT<\/a>) presented his research on <strong>\u201cBiocontrol of Aflatoxinogenic Corn Moulds Using Lactic Acid Bacteria Formulations\u201d<\/strong>, while <strong>Balamoussa Santara<\/strong> from <a href=\"https:\/\/innofaso.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">InnoFaso<\/a> showcased findings on <strong>bioactives from peanut skin<\/strong>, a promising natural source of preservatives, antimicrobials, and stabilisers.<\/p>\n<p data-wp-editing=\"1\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fci4africa.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Untitled-design-1-1024x512.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\"><\/p>\n<p data-wp-editing=\"1\"><strong style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; font-style: normal;\">Expert Insight<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In addition, <strong>Adama Neya<\/strong>, Plant Pathologist at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IneraBF\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">L&#8217;Institut de l&#8217;Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles du Burkina Faso<\/a> (INERA), joined the expert panel to discuss critical food safety issues in African contexts, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Why food safety in informal markets is essential for protecting consumers and building trust in local food systems<\/li>\n<li>How fragmented trade standards and high certification costs are barriers to compliance, especially for small producers<\/li>\n<li>What FCI4Africa is doing to engage early-career professionals in shaping and improving regional food safety standards through research, training, and policy dialogue<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fci4africa.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Adama-Neya-1024x564.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"564\"><strong style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; font-style: normal;\">Cross-Project Collaboration Driving Shared Progress<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This Symposium reflected the power of inter-project collaboration. By co-organising the event, <strong>FCI4Africa<\/strong>, <strong>FoodSafety4Africa<\/strong>, <strong>UP-RISE<\/strong>, and <strong>HealthyDiets4Africa<\/strong> demonstrated how cross-project synergies can:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Amplify science-based solutions<\/li>\n<li>Strengthen capacity among young African researchers<\/li>\n<li>Inform more coherent and evidence-based policymaking<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Panel discussions featured experts from the European Commission, African Union, and project partners from across Africa and Europe, reinforcing the commitment to advancing jointly led food safety innovation on the continent.<\/p>\n<p><strong style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; font-style: normal;\">Aligned For Impact<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In alignment with the World Food Safety Day theme, the Symposium showcased that science is not a standalone effort; it is most powerful when connected to policy goals and on-the-ground action.<\/p>\n<p>FCI4Africa and its sister projects are well-positioned to continue this work by building partnerships that are inclusive, innovative, and impact-driven.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Together, we can create better food systems for all.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fci4africa.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/WFSD2025_Poster-1024x725.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"725\"><\/p>\n<p><strong style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0px;\">Download the Symposium Highlights&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/cgspace.cgiar.org\/items\/c1510006-b8bb-453e-b28c-9b6529e0320c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">here<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Read about our participation in the &#8220;World Food Safety Day Symposium for Next Gen Food Safety Practitioners&#8221;, an online event co-organised by four EU-funded projects: FCI4Africa, FoodSafety4Africa, UP-RISE, and HealthyDiets4Africa. <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7181,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":36,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[81,82,84,83,79,80],"class_list":["post-7180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-fci4africa","tag-foodsafety4africa","tag-healthydiets4africa","tag-up-rise","tag-world-food-safety-day","tag-world-food-safety-day-symposium"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fci4africa.eu\/sw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fci4africa.eu\/sw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fci4africa.eu\/sw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fci4africa.eu\/sw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fci4africa.eu\/sw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fci4africa.eu\/sw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fci4africa.eu\/sw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fci4africa.eu\/sw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fci4africa.eu\/sw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fci4africa.eu\/sw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}