Egypt and the World Food Programme (WFP) have signed on Monday a five-year agreement to raise public awareness on food safety and hygiene as well as build the government's ability to ensure access to safe and nutritious food. In an official statement, the United Nations' WFP said the agreement, which was signed with Egypt's National Food Safety Authority (NSFA), would give the green light for the WFP to work on developing an online training platform for food safety inspectors on key issues such as proper food manufacturing, food handling and efficient supply chains. Both parties will launch several public awareness campaigns in hypermarkets, public parks and public transportation, and the WFP will further develop the current NFSA website to be used as a platform for sharing public awareness messages on food safety measures. “We have a good history of collaboration with the NFSA and we share a common vision on the importance of implementing food safety practices across all sectors working in the food industry,” WFP Representative and Country Director in Egypt Menghestab Haile said in the statement. Haile said that the WFP in Egypt provides food assistance to the most vulnerable while at the same time ensuring high standards of quality for food it distributes; stressing that "the safety of our food comes as number one priority." The statement said that the WFP in Egypt has been working over the years on raising the capacity of its own food suppliers through delivering numerous trainings on food quality and safety. It aims to extend its capacity-building to reach larger numbers of food suppliers, retailers, mills and others working in the food manufacturing sector. “Ensuring that food safety procedures are implemented across Egypt is a top priority for us, and our goal is to reach all those involved in the food production sector with the needed training,” Chairman of the NFSA Dr Hussein Mansour said. Mansour added that “food safety and security are the constitutional rights of every Egyptian and we work tirelessly to make sure this is met.” "WFP has been operating in Egypt since 1968 and is currently supporting over one million people through different projects implemented in the country's most vulnerable governorates," according to the statement. Its activities aim to enhance the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable groups in a way that is sustainable and lasting, working in more than 80 countries around the world "to lay the foundations for a better future."
