Food Standards, Food Law and Regulation System in Ethiopia: A Review

Abstract

It is worth recalling that regulation in the area of food quality and safety protection was emerged with the objectives of safeguarding consumers from both economic and health risks and to ensure the functioning of food markets in an orderly manner by prohibiting the production and  sale  of  unsafe  food  products  and fraudulent acts committed on foods. Ensuring the quality and safety of domestically produced, exported and imported food and food products constitutes one of the areas of food quality and safety protection. This is with an assumption that maintaining the quality of these foods is essential to protect public health, to satisfy the expectation of consumers, and to enhance foreign earnings and to maintain the confidence of food trading partners. Hence, governments assure the quality and safety of domestically produced, imported and exported food and food products. It has been noted that foods related laws in Ethiopia also do not meet what the supplying of safe and of good quality food so demands. In the first place, the existing laws are outdated and they focus only on the inspection of final products by overlooking the need to take proactive measures which are required by the current food quality and safety system; this proactive measure includes the need to conduct inspection from the sources, even beginning from the selection of farm lands. Secondly the existing law itself is not comprehensive and adequate in that it is scattered in different codes and legislations. As far as street foods are concerned they are becoming major dish for many persons, particularly for middle and low income persons. Similarly in Ethiopia preparing and selling of street food become the sources of employment for producers and sellers. They are produced and sold in major towns of Ethiopia. Particularly, in Addis Ababa it is a matter of fact to observe street foods vendors and consumers in every place in the city.

Keywords:  street food, safety, regulation