Phytoplankton blooms, micro-algal blooms, toxic algae, red tides, or harmful algae, are all terms for naturally occurring phenomena that have occurred throughout recorded history. About 300 hundred species of micro algae are reported at times to form mass occurrence, so called blooms. Nearly one fourth of these species are known to produce toxins. Even non-toxic algal blooms can have devastating impacts when they lead to kills of fish and invertebrates by generating anoxic conditions. Some algal species, although non-toxic to humans, can produce exudates that can cause damage to the delicate gill tissues of fish (raphidophytes Chattonella, Heterosigma, and dinoflagellates Karenia, Karlodinium) . Aquatic animals can suffer devastating mortalities, which could lead economical and food losses, and eventually became a...

FAO food safety experts explain what is known so far about COVID-19 and food, offering hygiene advice for safety authorities.

FAO food safety experts explain what is known so far about COVID-19 and food, offering hygiene advice for business operators.

FAO food safety experts explain what is known so far about COVID-19 and food, offering advice for when you go food shopping.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic presents an exceptional and unprecedented challenge for national food control competent authorities to continue conducting routine functions and activities in accordance with national regulations and international recommendations. In many countries, food control competent authorities apply temporary measures with more flexibility in official controls in food supply chain prioritizing high risk food businesses, making use of video for e-inspection or authorizing some laboratories to complement the work of official ones. Staff are largely working from home, teleworking being the normal practice and all face-to-face meetings cancelled or rescheduled as teleconferences. It is challenging to maintain, without interruption, routine activities such as the inspection of food business operations, certifying exports, control of imported...

Given the current absence of international guidance and regulations, a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on Tropane Alkaloids was convened remotely on 30 March-3 April 2020 to provide scientific advice that will allow for appropriate risk management options for products used by the World Food Programme in delivering food assistance in emergencies. Tropane alkaloids are a group of compounds occurring in several plant families of the Solanaceae genera that can contaminate staples like cereals and grains. The key discussions and outcomes of the expert meeting have been captured in this executive summary.

The world is facing an unprecedented threat from the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (referred to as the COVID-19 virus). The purpose of these guidelines is to highlight additional measures so that the integrity of the food chain is maintained, and that adequate and safe food supplies are available for consumers.

Climate change is causing unprecedented damage to our ecosystem. Increasing temperatures, ocean warming and acidification, severe droughts, wildfires, altered precipitation patterns, melting glaciers, rising sea levels and amplification of extreme weather events have direct implications for our food systems. While the impacts of such environmental factors on food security are well known, the effects on food safety receive less attention. The purpose of Climate change: Unpacking the burden on food safety is to identify and attempt to quantify some current and anticipated food safety issues that are associated with climate change. The food safety hazards considered in the publication are foodborne pathogens and parasites, harmful algal blooms, pesticides, mycotoxins and heavy metals with emphasis on methylmercury. There is also, a dedicated...

Specific information about the virus responsible for COVID-19 is and remains scant; however, the behaviour and characteristics of the virus can be predicted based on data from similar viruses such as those responsible for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Despite the hypothesis that the virus may have originated in bats and infected another animal used for food, there is no evidence of continued transmission of the virus from animals to humans through the food chain. The application of sound principles of environmental sanitation, personal hygiene and established food safety practices will reduce the likelihood that harmful pathogens will threaten the safety of the food supply, regardless of whether the food is sourced from intensive...