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FAO/WHO Global Forum of Food Safety Regulators Improving Efficiency and Transparency in Food Safety Systems Appendix XI
SUMMARIES OF CONFERENCE ROOM DOCUMENTS FOR THEME 4 COMMUNICATION AND PARTICIPATIONMexico-1 (GF 01/6-Rev. 1)Food safety is becoming increasingly addressed in Mexico, with the General Act for Health considering food safety and food hygiene within the concept of sanitary quality and this, in turn, within the concept of general health. The relevance of food safety lies in the fact that food may cause illness which impairs the individual's ability and possibility of development, as well as affecting the community and imbalancing organizations in which individuals participate. From an economic and social perspective, the sanitary quality of food is becoming increasingly important for the development of the nation, influencing the expected rise in employment, in capital income and in resources available for development. The sectors of agriculture and fisheries; of the manufacturing industry; trade and tourism services; as related to the production, processing and provision of food, all contribute significantly to the gross national product and to capital inflow, while representing the most important national employers. There are several relevant actors involved in the production of safe food: individuals who offer products and services; the consumers; governmental organizations which encourage and support individuals in their function or protect or educate the consumer, the challenge being to establish collective involvement and co-responsibility for the achievement of food safety. Canada-5Government, food regulatory agencies and industry stakeholders have a fundamental responsibility to communicate best practices for enhanced food safety as well as potential food safety risks. Clear, concise and timely communication on food safety issues is an essential element of Canada's integrated approach to food safety. The communication objective is to provide individuals and organizations with appropriate information that contributes to improved food safety practices at all levels of the food continuum (i.e.: inputs, production, processing and consumption). Canada has made significant investments in communications to inform, educate and advise consumers and other stakeholders. In addition to more traditional communication tools, increasing use of the Internet by Canadians is providing a new, practical and economic mechanism for governments to reach consumers and other stakeholders. Working with stakeholders, innovative programs such as the Canadian Fight BAC!TM Campaign are making important contributions to enhancing food safety and minimizing the occurrence of foodborne illness resulting from improper food handling and preparation by the consumer. Implementation of an integrated approach to enhance food safety has resulted in important lessons learned with respect to: food safety communication as an ongoing regulatory responsibility; the need to identify clear communication objectives and to consult with stakeholders as part of ensuring the timely availability of appropriate food safety messages to the right audiences. China-4The Chinese government is convinced that enabling the consumers, food industry and other stakeholders to learn about the current situation of food safety and to participate in food safety control activities is the most efficient way of strengthening the national food safety control system and of improving the confidence of consumers in the safety of the food supply. Based on this understanding, the Chinese government has adopted various measures to promote the participation of all stakeholders, in particular the consumers. These may include: participation of food industry associations and representatives in food standard and regulation drafting; the increasing of attention by governmental agencies at different levels to consumer complaints and to responding to communications with industry in respect of these complaints; release and dissemination of food safety information through different mediums; implementing the education programme- "Food Hygiene Law Education Week" annually (since 1996); and establishing close cooperation with the consumer organization. The participation of Chinese consumers in food safety control is still relatively inadequate, particularly regarding consumers from rural areas. Most of the food industries in China are small and medium sized businesses, there being a need to explore better ways to communicate with these food industries. China is a large and diverse country, with significant differences in economic development, education levels, cultural background and dietary habits amongst its different regions and consequently requires an efficient ways in establishing participation and risk communication towards food saftey. CI-3Consumers International has participated in Codex work as an observer for three decades, and notes the importance of ongoing efforts by the Codex Commission to improve the participation of consumers in its activities. Sound goals have been established, but the details of implementation have yet to be worked out. Data need to be collected at regular intervals on objective measures to track progress in consumer participation at the national and international level. Some governments are more advanced than others in terms of the extent and mechanisms through which they facilitate consumer participation in their food safety risk analysis. Through fora such as this one and Codex Regional Coordinating Committees, successful experiences can be shared and perhaps, more widely adopted. In order to improve the quality of consumer participation, consumer NGOs should be given opportunities to take part in risk analysis training and similar workshops carried out by international agencies and national governments. The risk assessment process, which has traditionally been closed to observers, should also be more open and transparent, bringing invited consumer participants into that process could both improve the results and add to the credibility of risk assessments. Germany-1Presently, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment advises the Federal Office and it governing body- the Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture (BMVEL), besides cooperating with governmental research departments. With deficits in risk assessment (no central assessment agency, capacity shortages) and risk management (fragmentation of Federal and Ministerial responsibilities, unsatisfactory EU-Federal Government-Laender coordination), Germany aims to consolidate responsibilities of the BMVEL; disunite the administration of risk assessment, risk communication and risk management; establishing an independent scientific agency for the assessment of health risks. The foundations of a new administrative structure for consumer health protection and food safety, require the pooling of resources from various ministerial institutions, permitting an increment in personnel and capital investment. Morocco-3A few years ago Morocco initiated the development of a truly integrated approach with all stakeholders of the food chain, to assure a greater understanding and participative process when managing and communicating on food safety and quality related issues. The main objectives of this new approach is to a) increase information circulation among all partners (administration, food chain professionals, and consumers); b) increase the responsible role and behaviour of professionals through voluntary programmes (code of good practices, technical regulations, knowledge of mandatory obligations); c) consumer information and education programmes; d) support to consumers associations. A special food safety inter-ministerial Mission has been established. Food industry operators are organised in branch associations. Six consumers associations are currently active in Morocco. Through different examples, it is shown that communication among the three above components improves the level of reliability of the food safety system. It is suggested that appropriate actions should be taken in the following areas: insufficient coordination among the different ministerial components (on occasion within a ministry itself); a lack of consumer information and sensitisation policies; a lack of consultation with professionals. Philippines-3Food safety has emerged as the major consumer concern in both developed and developing countries. Foodborne diseases do not only pose tremendous threats to consumer health, but they can also cause serious economic damage. In this regard, risk analysis has become an integral part of ensuring food safety. In the Philippines, the government continues to encourage the involvement and participation of stakeholders and members of the academic, scientific community and consumer groups through the use of effective risk communication and feedback mechanisms. With consideration to factors that serve as an obstacle to risk communication, other popular media channels are utilized in order to gather comments, opinions and suggestions from the stakeholders. The conduct of consultation meetings for the drafting of country position papers regarding food safety concerns is a very good example of effective feedback mechanism as exemplified by the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Product Standards, which operates as a government unit mandated to protect the welfare of the consuming public through the formulation, harmonization and adoption of safety and quality standards for foods. However, given the efficient feedback mechanism to ensure the involvement of stakeholders, more efforts remain to be made in facing new challenges posed by the occurrence of trans-national food safety emergencies. This can only be done if the country continues to strive to strengthen the commitment of the stakeholders because ensuring safe food from farm to plate is a shared responsibility not only of the government and industry sector but also of the consuming public. Syria-1The paper gives an overview of the food safety programme in Syria with its components: food legislation; quality assurance; prevention and control; compliance and training. In the food legislation field, Syria does not have a single unified food law but several legal texts implemented by various governmental agencies. There are over 440 Syrian food standards issues by the Syrian Standards and Metrology Organization and some 259 decisions issued by the Ministry of supply to enforce these standards and other food regulations. The application of HACCP is limited to a few modern factories and is done on a voluntary basis. The paper describes the case of imported oranges that were found to be contaminated with excessive amounts of carbamate residues. The imported oranges were recalled from the market through a collaborative effort that involved all concerned authorities and stakeholders including the vendors themselves. The paper draws lessons from this contamination case and makes proposals for a risk-based control of all imported foods. The paper gives a tabular overview of the country's national plan in food safety which focuses on 11 priority areas of intervention ranging from the safety of baby foods to training and gives progress made so far and further actions required. It also identifies, for each type of intervention, the agency responsible for follow up. United Kingdom-3The Food Standards Agency recognises the importance and value in involving consumers and other stakeholders effectively in the decision-making process. The involvement of key stakeholders at an early stage has helped the Agency to develop effective policies. The Agency recognises that it can be difficult for consumers to contribute effectively and has implemented a number of initiatives targeted specifically at helping consumers. In addition the Agency recognises that being open and accessible has helped build trust in the decision-making process and helped to stimulate a wider debate on food issues. USA-6The United States uses the information generated from food safety risk assessments to evaluate options and select strategies for managing identified risks. Risk management strategies often include new regulatory requirements, but also can include or consist of non-regulatory actions, such as voluntary efforts on the part of industry or consumer education initiatives. The US encourages and facilitates consumer and stakeholder participation in the development of risk management strategies. Further, in the development of new regulations, consumer and stakeholder participation is guaranteed by U.S. law. Food safety risks are communicated to the public though a variety of means, including public meetings, publications in the Federal Register, mailings to consumers and other stakeholders, and the Internet. The development of recently proposed regulations concerning the control of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat meat and poultry products provides a good example of how the US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service facilitates public participation in risk management and rule making. Canada-6Food safety policy in Canada is based on the risk analysis process using risk assessment, risk management and risk communication as its basic tenets. This responsibility is shared by Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and, depending on the issue, other levels of government may be involved. Health Canada's risk analysis process, referred to as a Decision-Making Framework (DMF), provides the basis for a systematic, comprehensive and coordinated approach in the policy development process. Similarly, the CFIA has developed a Risk Analysis Framework to guide its enforcement, compliance and control processes. Both frameworks call for the establishment of separate risk assessment and a risk management teams. It is critical, however, for each team to have a leader who provides direction while maintaining a linkage with the other team. Canada has found that a team approach is necessary for the successful management of risks. In addition, there needs to be an overall risk manager responsible for guiding and integrating the work of the two teams, moving the process forward, and dealing with the various process-related issues. Along with the establishment of the teams, the assignment of roles, responsibilities and accountabilities is critically important. Canada has used the decision making process across a number of food safety files. Health Canada undertook a review of its DMF through a pilot study on prion diseases. The study concluded that the DMF significantly enhanced Health Canada's ability to deal with prion diseases and other potentially hazardous threats to the health of Canadians. Some lessons learned confirmed that the commitment, leadership and involvement of senior management is critical to implementing a systematic approach; that all decisions must be evidenced-based and pulled together in an issue identification document; that barriers must be overcome to ensure that the different teams effectively share information; and that all participants must work through teams. Access to the best available science and the right people for building consensus; developing horizontal relationships through collaboration, partnerships and team work; and documenting all aspects of the decision-making process are some of the key challenges in achieving effective communication and interaction. Denmark-1In Denmark, the concept of risk analysis has been used in the control of Campylobacter in chickens. The risk management procedure was initiated by a risk profile on Campylobacter, which was elaborated in cooperation with risk managers, risk assessors, and stakeholders representing both the consumers and the industry. Following the preparation of the risk profile the risk managers decided to order a formal risk assessment. The responsibility for the risk assessment was placed in the research institute under the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, and the work was closely followed by the stakeholders. The results were communicated to the risk managers, who subsequently initiated the process identifying possible management options and their efficiency in reducing the number of human Campylobacter cases. This process was carried out in close collaboration with the Consumer Board, the Danish Veterinary Laboratory, the Danish Zoonosis Centre, the broiler industry and the trade organisation. At present (January 2002), the management part of the process is not yet concluded. Throughout the risk analysis procedure there has been a good and intimate collaboration between risk managers, risk assessors, and involved stakeholders. The procedure has been a very successful and instructive process for all the parts involved. USA-7The mission of the United States food safety regulatory agencies is to safeguard public health by ensuring the safety of food products in the United States. To accomplish this goal, these agencies are increasingly relying on a risk analysis approach to address complex food safety problems. This document will discuss how US regulatory agencies balance the need to ensure the independence of risk assessors and risk managers, while yet maintaining essential frequent and transparent communication between the two groups. Two illustrative cases of coordinated risk assessment and management are included; these address Salmonella Enteritidis in shell eggs and Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods.
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