A Regional Conference on Food Safety for the Americas and the Caribbean, jointly convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), took place from 6 to 9 December 2005 in San José, Costa Rica, at the kind invitation of the Government of Costa Rica. Over 175 delegates from 32 member countries of the Americas and the Caribbean and observers from 14 international governmental and non-governmental organizations participated in the Conference, which was designed to: i) Facilitate discussion on food safety issues important to all countries of the Americas and the Caribbean and identify practical and sustainable actions to address these issues; ii) Identify opportunities for improving regional cooperation in promoting food safety to protect human health and increase food trade opportunities, taking into account the prevailing conditions in agriculture, post-harvest operations, food processing, food trade, public health and consumer protection; iii) Promote the strengthening and/or the establishment of regional networks for the exchange of food safety-related information and experiences among all stakeholders; iv) Encourage public/private partnerships for consumer and industry awareness raising and capacity building in food safety; v) Promote improved interaction between academia, research organizations and other food safety officials.
Countries have recognized the need for increased national attention and international, regional and national cooperation to strengthen food safety systems in the countries of the Region. The Conference highlighted the value of adopting a food-chain approach to ensuring food safety, within a Biosecurity framework, addressing food safety, animal and plant health in an integrated manner. The Conference further emphasized the need to adopt an integrated/coordinated institutional framework for food control systems. Within this context, the conference recommended a series of practical actions to strengthen food safety in the region.
The key actions recommended include the following:
