Minister of Agriculture Roger Clarke has given the assurance that there is no trace of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly in Jamaica.
He said the Ministry has established a residue testing laboratory and is carrying out an islandwide survey on the Mediterranean Fruit Fly, whose presence he said, could seriously affect Jamaica's ability to export fruits and vegetation.
"So far, this survey has indicated that this pest does not exist in Jamaica," Mr. Clarke said at the opening session of the First International Food Safety Conference at the Renaissance Jamaica Grande Resort in Ocho Rios last Thursday November 21, 2002.
He noted that many concerns are now being raised worldwide about issues relating to health and food safety including food-borne diseases, cancer, and food poisoning from the use of toxic and carcinogenic pesticides on fresh fruits and vegetables.
"These concerns cannot be ignored because they not only pose a risk to human health, but also impact negatively on the operating cost and productivity of businesses," he added.
The Minister said although several measures have been taken already to improve agricultural health and food safety, in keeping with Jamaica's obligations under international trade agreements the country is making further efforts to meet international standards.
The Agricultural Support Services Project (A.S.S.P.) in the Ministry is to finance the major refurbishing of the Kingston Complex, to make the facility compliant with the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (H.A.C.C.P.) system, which is the standard for food quality internationally," he explained.
Mr. Clarke said the Ministry is also taking steps to upgrade current legislation and regulations to make them WTO-compatible.
He said that in order to attain international competitiveness, Jamaica's agricultural sector must have in place a properly trained team of professionals. The Ministry, he said, has also recognised this important need and is giving priority to the training of its staff, as well as assisting with the training of persons employed in the private sector.
Despite the progress that has been made in food safety in Jamaica, the Minister said much more work still needs to be done.
He called for a concerted effort to be made to augment, certify and co-ordinate the main agencies with responsibility for food safety, to enable them to provide the service required to conduct routine testing.
