Antimicrobial drugs play a critical role in the treatment of diseases of food producing animals and their use is essential for both animal and human health. The full set of Highlights on FAO food safety and quality activities is available at the following Url http://www.fao.org/3/a-au638e/index.html

Food safety risk managers should base their decisions on clear evidence and assessment of the potential for foodborne hazards to cause harm. Decisions facing food safety risk managers are varied, and at times complex, e.g. setting food safety priorities, resource allocations, policy recommendations and selecting the most appropriate intervention to minimize food safety risks. In determining appropriate action, decision-makers often need to consider the consequences relating to more than one risk factor eg. impact on public health, trade, food access and security. Making sound strategic decisions is the primary responsibility of food safety risk managers. However to be effective in building strong food safety systems and programmes, they also need to influence higher level decisions and ultimately the priority given...

Scombrotoxin fish poisoning (SFP), often called "histamine poisoning", is caused by ingestion of certain species of marine fish with high levels of histamine and possibly other biogenic amines. In some parts of the world, SFP is a major cause of food-borne illness. The fish species involved contain high levels of free histidine in their tissue and include tuna and other pelagic species like mackerel, sardines, and anchovy. When these species are subjected to temperature abuse during and/or after harvest, bacterial decarboxylation of histidine leads to histamine formation. Other biogenic amines produced as a result of bacterial growth in fish may potentiate histamine's effect.The full set of Highlights on FAO food safety and quality activities is available at the following Url:...

Foodborne parasites are often referred to as neglected diseases. From the food safety perspective they have not received the same level of attention as other foodborne biological and chemical hazards. Yet they cause a high burden of disease in humans, and can cause great hardship in terms of food security and their impact on livelihoods. Foodborne parasitic diseases present some unique challenges. Notification of public health authorities is not compulsory for most parasitic diseases, and, therefore, official reports do not reflect the true prevalence/incidence of the disease that occurs (underreporting). Parasites have complicated life cycles, which may include multiple hosts, some of which could become food, or the parasites themselves could contaminate food. The disease can present with prolonged incubation...

En América Latina, varios países han promulgado un marco jurídico sobre la propiedad intelectual para implementar la protección de los productos alimenticios mediante estas dos distinciones. En este contexto, el proyecto de la FAO TCP/RLA/3211 “Calidad de los alimentos vinculada con el origen y las tradiciones en América Latina” se desarrolló en seis países de la región, a saber, Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador y Perú, con el propósito de impulsar un proceso que se encuentra en distintas fases de implementación en cada país, y que tiene en común la necesidad de establecer marcos de referencia y desarrollar capacitaciones especializadas sobre las IG y DO para apoyar su implementación. La FAO, en colaboración con el Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación...

The promotion of links among local stakeholders, their territories and their food products is a pathway for sustainable development in rural communities throughout the world. The success of such process, especially through a geographical indication (GI), is based on a series of factors described along the origin-linked virtuous circle: identification of potentials, qualification of the product, remuneration through marketing, reproduction of local resources and the roles of public policies. The Quality & Origin Programme of FAO and REDD have jointly developed this training material for the promotion of origin-linked quality and sustainable geographical indications in a participatory process. Based on the guide "Linking People, Places and Products", the "Content" sheets provide with the concepts, while the "Exercise" sheets provide with...