Summary report: webinar on food safety implications of environmental inhibitors in agrifood systems

The webinarFood safety implications from the use of environmental inhibitors in agrifood systems, hosted by FAO, took place on 9 May 2024.

The event aimed to stimulate discussion on the food safety aspects that need to be considered and addressed when using environmental inhibitors in agrifood systems. Attendees representing public and private sectors, academia, international organizations and NGOs from across the world joined the webinar.

In her opening remarks, Corinna Hawkes, Director of the Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division at FAO highlighted that a systems approach is needed to address the trade-offs between environmental, socioeconomic, food security and safety objectives. Magdalena Niegowska Conforti and Vittorio Fattori from the Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division at FAO presented the findings of the FAO report Food safety implications from the use of environmental inhibitors in agrifood systems. They stressed the importance of science-based risk assessment and the harmonization of regulatory frameworks at a global level to ensure the food safety of environmental inhibitors and facilitate international fair trade.

In the panel discussion, four experts - Warren Hughes, Ministry for Primary Industries, New Zealand; Claudio Nuñez, Agriculture and Livestock Service, Chile; Michael Dickinson, Food Standards Agency, United Kingdom; and Holly Erdely, Food and Drug Administration, United States of America - shared their perspectives on the trends, opportunities, challenges and potential food safety issues associated with environmental inhibitors.

The panellists highlighted the significant interest and collaboration between countries and scientists in the evolving space of environmental inhibitors. Governments are playing an important role in promoting and supporting the use of environmental inhibitors, especially in countries reliant on agriculture. The importance of climate justice and international cooperation was also stressed, to share best practices, transfer technologies and capacities, and provide financial support for the implementation of adaptation and mitigation measures.

In his closing remarks, Markus Lipp, FAO Senior Food Safety Officer, underlined that the topic of environmental inhibitors is challenging, including the lack of an agreed definition for these substances and the regulatory variability across different jurisdictions. “Collectively, we need to come to some better conclusions or explanations and framing language”, said Lipp. He stressed the need to develop a holistic food systems approach to evaluate the benefits and trade-offs of using environmental inhibitors while ensuring food safety.

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Read the report Food safety implications from the use of environmental inhibitors in agrifood systems.