Moslem Barrak
Secretary, ARAC

As part of its ongoing efforts regarding upgrading and harmonizing food safety and quality infrastructure in the Arab region, the Arab Accreditation Cooperation (ARAC) Chair and accreditation body member representatives participated in the Arab Regional Forum on Voluntary Third-Party Assurance (vTPA) between 30 August and 01 September 2022, in Amman, Jordan.

Over 55 Arab regulators participated in the two days of discussions, which were led by a group of specialized experts. Participants included high level country representatives from regional and national accreditation bodies, food safety competent authorities and the industry represented by the private sector leads from the region.

The participants had the opportunity to engage with each other and consider possible ways for the implementation of a potential regional vTPA approach in light of the new Codex guidelines.

The Forum was organized as part of a UNIDO project funded by the Sida initiative for the Arab region, which aims to improve regional trade and conformity assessment services.