This technical summary prepared by FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO) reports on the two international food safety conferences held in Addis Ababa and Geneva in February and April 2019. It recalls the key actions and strategies presented to address current and future challenges to food safety globally and the steps required to strengthen commitment at the highest political level to scale up food safety in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. At a pivotal moment focussing international attention on actions needed to bolster food safety, this publication recalls the priorities discussed so that food safety strategies and approaches can be aligned across sectors and borders, reinforcing efforts to reach the Sustainable Development Goals and supporting the UN Decade of...

This publication sets out to explore the issue of harmonization of national pesticides Maximum Residues Limits (MRLs) with Codex pesticide MRLs from different angles, by taking rice as a case study. Part A identifies the level of harmonization in main rice producing and trading countries and explores the possible effects on trade, while Part B investigates the reasons behind differing levels of harmonization.   Its broader objective is to offer insights for decision-makers involved in setting of standards and design of food policy at national and international level on the significance of harmonization of pesticide MRLs.

Background Human dietary exposure to chemicals can result in a wide range of adverse health effects. Some substances might cause non-communicable diseases, including cancer and coronary heart diseases, and could be nephrotoxic. Food is the main human exposure route for many chemicals. We aimed to assess human dietary exposure to a wide range of food chemicals. Methods We did a total diet study in Benin, Cameroon, Mali, and Nigeria. We assessed 4020 representative samples of foods, prepared as consumed, which covered more than 90% of the diet of 7291 households from eight study centres. By combining representative dietary surveys of countries with findings for concentrations of 872 chemicals in foods, we characterised human dietary exposure. Findings Exposure to lead could result in increases in adult...

For the first time, a multi-centre Total Diet Study was carried out in Benin, Cameroon, Mali and Nigeria. We collected and prepared as consumed 528 typical fatty foods from those areas and pooled these subsamples into 44 composites samples. These core foods were tested for a wide spectrum of POPs, including polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), brominated flame-retardants (BFRs), organochlorine compounds (OCs), perfluoro alkyl substances (PFAS) and chlorinated flame retardants (CFRs). The POPs contamination levels were similar or lower than those reported in total diet studies previously conducted worldwide. In most cases, core foods belonging to fish food group presented higher POPs concentrations than the other food groups. Interestingly, we observed a difference in both contamination...

The purpose of this study was to propose an approach to predict the distribution of chemicals in food in developing countries to assess consumer risk and access to the international market with a limited number of laboratory analyses. The first step consists of identifying the GEMS/Food Contaminants database and the chemical/food combination relevant for a particular country. The identification of critical chemical/food combination should be used to prioritize the analysis to be performed in a total diet study (TDS). The second step consists of modeling a distribution model based on the mean concentration generated from TDS associated with the variability observed in a larger dataset consisting of individual food contamination data from the GEMS food database. The simulated distributions may...

INFOSAN Advisory Group members bring unique knowledge, skills and experiences to complement the knowledge and skills of the Secretariat to more effectively govern the Network by offering innovative advice and dynamic perspectives. The purpose of the INFOSAN Advisory Group is to support INFOSAN activities by advising on ways to strengthen the network, including: contributing to strategic planning; guiding quality improvement; advocating for the network; supporting the Secretariat for technical consultation; and resource mobilization. FAO and WHO through the FAO/WHO INFOSAN Management Group are responsible for selecting members by considering expertise related to INFOSAN activities and strategic planning ability.

A meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) was held on a virtual online platform, on 1–12 June 2020. The purpose of the meeting was to evaluate the safety of certain food additives and flavourings. The present meeting was the 89th in a series of similar meetings. The tasks before the Committee were (a) to further elaborate principles governing the evaluation of food additives, (b) to undertake safety evaluations of certain food additives, (c) to review and prepare specifications for certain food additives and (d) to establish specifications for certain flavouring agents.

This policy guidance note is part of a series that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is producing to support policy makers address the food security and nutrition situation in their country. Each note provides guidance on how to sharpen the focus of sector policies in order to achieve sustainable food security and nutrition outcomes.

This volume of FAO JECFA Monographs contains residue evaluation of certain veterinary drugs prepared at the 88th Meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), held in Rome, 22–31 October 2019. The present meeting was the eighty-eighth in a series of similar meetings and the twenty-fourth JECFA meeting specifically convened to consider residues of veterinary drugs in food. The tasks before the Committee were to further elaborate principles for evaluating the safety of residues of veterinary drugs in food, establishing acceptable daily intakes (ADIs) and acute reference doses (ARfDs), and recommending maximum residue limits (MRLs) for such residues when the drugs under consideration are administered to food-producing animals in accordance with good practice in the use of...

The Second Global Meeting of INFOSAN was held from 9-11 December 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and attended by more than 285 participants from 135 countries. His Excellency Dr Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, inaugurated the meeting which was organized by FAO and WHO and the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA). The meeting was held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of ADAFSA. After nearly 10 years since the first global meeting, the purpose of this meeting was to bring members together to discuss recent...