WHO/EMRO, Cairo, Egypt, 27-28 January 2001
The Workshop adopted the following conclusions and
recommendations:
CONCLUSIONS:
- Data on dietary intake/food consumption are not available in most countries
for a complete and comprehensive conducting of risk assessment of major contaminants.
Limited data exists however from different projects and studies which could
be a starting point for conducting risk assessment.
- FAO Food Balance Sheets provide a useful and sufficient tool for estimating
exposure to various contaminants. They should be used until better, more precise
data are generated for this purpose.
- Most countries of the Region are still lacking the necessary skills to
carry out risk assessment and require specialised training in this field;
- Several participants expressed concern over the BSE disease and the potential
of it spreading in the Region because of the reports on exports of meat and
of MBM outside Europe. They were eager to receive more advise from FAO and
WHO on the risks involved and on measures to prevent the disease from entering
the Region.
- Participants underlined the necessity to prioritise resources for risk
assessment and also recognized the necessity in some countries to sensitise
the decision makers to the importance of risk assessment in developing food
safety legislation.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Workshop recommended that:
- Regional expert “Round Tables” be organised on the subject of
risk analysis with the purpose of:
- identifying regional human and technical resources needed for carrying
out risk analysis;
- establishing a regional network for information exchange on risk analysis
between all relevant institutions;
- developing common methodologies (as far as possible) for dietary intake
studies, foodborne disease surveillance and contamination monitoring.
- Regional training centres be established within existing competent institutions
to provide refresher training courses to food control professionals from the
Region, in different food control related disciplines, including risk assessment;
FAO and WHO should be encouraged to assist in this process;
- Countries of the Region should underline the benefits of adopting Codex
standards, guidelines and other recommendations in relation to the conformity
of their food legislation with WTO requirements and to save on much needed
resources which could be used for other more pressing needs;
- FAO and WHO continue to support the countries of the Region through training
in different aspects of Risk Analysis-Risk assessment, and also on HACCP,
and Good Hygienic Practices at Regional, Sub-regional or National levels;
- Government officials and decision makers should be sensitised to the necessity
of performing risk assessments at the national/regional level;
- Cooperation, coordination and communication between all sectors involved
in food control, at national and regional levels should be improved through
networking;
- Research Institutes and relevant academic institutions in the Region should
collaborate in generating data and information necessary to carry out risk
analysis - exposure assessment.
