The African Union (AU) ought to be congratulated for working at instituting a food safety authority as well as a Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). This is proof that the continent is fast outgrowing the ‘thinking local’ mentality that has blinded it to international best practices to the detriment of trade and good health. The current initiative will boost trade, avert food-borne diseases and reduce food losses.

The AU should however not stop at this.  It should also lay strategies that will ensure that the continent is food sufficient. The continent has been treated to food deficiency occasioned by factors such as lopsided priorities, geopolitical interests, unfair global trade rules, use of food as a weapon by local politicians, lease of large parcels of agricultural land to developed nations and neglect of small-holder farmers who remain the backbone of agricultural production.

The AU must establish and enforce a legislation that will make food insecurity punishable by penalizing any local or international party that triggers food insecurity.