The Technical Consultation on Biological Risk Management in Food and Agriculture met in Bangkok, Thailand, from 13 to 17 January 2003. The list of delegates and observers is attached as Appendix A. The aim of the Consultation was to consult Governments on the possibilities to harmonize, where appropriate, methods of risk analysis, to enhance capacity-building where needed, particularly among developing countries and countries with economies in transition, and to establish an official information exchange system on biological risk management in food and agriculture ("Biosecurity"). The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) had established a Priority Area for Interdisciplinary Action on Biosecurity, to coordinate this process within the Organization. During 2002, consultations had taken place with other relevant international organizations to explore...

Effective national food control systems are essential to protect the health and safety of domestic consumers. They are also critical in enabling countries to assure the safety and quality of their foods entering international trade and to ensure that imported foods conform to national requirements. The new global environment for food trade places considerable obligations on both importing and exporting countries to strengthen their food control systems and to implement and enforce risk-based food control strategies. Consumers are taking unprecedented interest in the way food is produced, processed and marketed, and are increasingly calling for their Governments to accept greater responsibility for food safety and consumer protection. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World...

In response to the request of the 22nd session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 1997, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), convened a series of expert consultations and related activities to address microbiological aspects of food safety, and in particular microbiological risk assessment (MRA). These activities are known as the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meetings on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA). MRA has been identified as a useful tool for enabling informed actions and decisions aimed at improving food safety. It is recognized that MRA is still a developing science and remains beyond the capacities of many countries. The MRA activities promoted by FAO and WHO aim to optimize...