The International Symposium on Food Safety and Control, which concluded yesterday, 31 May, in Vienna, Austria, provided a forum for information sharing on cutting edge research and developments in the application of nuclear technologies for food safety and control. The event also offered networking opportunities between the public and private sectors and the chance to define future research needs and directions. The symposium included seven sessions, which addressed several topics, from chemical residues and contaminants in food and feed, to One [...]

The report on the implementation of the WHO Global Strategy for Food Safety was presented at WHA77 showing the progress made all over the world in the first two years after the adoption of the strategy. Different activities are ongoing with support from WHO to strengthen national food safety systems improving accountability from national authorities and protecting consumers health. Here are some highlights. WHO, together with partners, has made progress in assessing food control systems and developing implementation and advocacy tools [...]

This year, 30 May marks the first ever observance of International Day of Potato, which is facilitated, at the request of the United Nations General Assembly, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The Day was marked by a special event hosted at FAO headquarters and online, under the theme of “Fundamental role of the potato value chain in global food security.” The event highlighted the significance of this important staple food, which, over the course of [...]

The 43rd session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling concluded Saturday 18 May with the adoption of the report and… a recipe for an Asian soup. The Committee had covered a lot of ground during the week, with the endorsement of methods of analysis for the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) and the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils (CCFO), with endorsement or proposed revocation of methods for olive oils and olive pomace oils, [...]

The 43rd session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) opened Tuesday with introductory remarks from representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The session was officially opened by Dr Márton Nobilis, the Secretary of State responsible for food chain safety at the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture. Dr Nobilis underlined the long-standing nature of CCMAS and its importance to the food standards setting process. He also [...]

The webinar Food safety implications from the use of environmental inhibitors in agrifood systems, hosted by FAO, took place on 9 May 2024. The event aimed to stimulate discussion on the food safety aspects that need to be considered and addressed when using environmental inhibitors in agrifood systems. Magdalena Niegowska Conforti and Vittorio Fattori from the Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division at FAO presented the findings of the FAO report Food safety implications from the use of environmental inhibitors in agrifood [...]

The Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) will take place next week, 13-18 May 2024, in Budapest. As the meeting approaches we spoke to Attila Nagy, Chairperson of CCMAS43, a veterinarian and microbiologist. In this interview Attila talks about the agenda of the Committee, the unique role of Observers and the traditions of CCMAS. Attila, thank you for your time. This is the fourth time for you to chair CCMAS. How would you describe the work of this Committee?  Similar [...]

The theme for World Food Safety Day, 7 June, this year is “Food safety: prepare for the unexpected,” which was chosen to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the launch of the FAO/WHO International Food Safety Authorities Network, or INFOSAN. The World Food Safety Day campaign in 2024 is inspiring preparedness on food safety, which includes in an emergency situations when it is necessary to quickly identify the nature and extent of an international outbreak, or potential outbreak, of foodborne illness. [...]

World Food Safety Day is fast approaching! If you want to hold an event or activity to help raise awareness about food safety, join us on 10 May for the World Food Safety Day Planning Webinar! Representatives of FAO and WHO, together with members of the World Food Safety Day team, are running a webinar 13:00–14:00 CEST to explain this year’s theme, “Food safety: prepare for the unexpected,” and to talk about how to inspire action to prevent, detect and manage [...]

A first-of-its-kind pilot surveillance study in Mongolia is coming to an end. In October 2023, as part of the FAO-implemented and Republic of Korea-funded Action to support implementation of Codex AMR Texts (ACT) project, a team of researchers from the State Central Veterinary Laboratory (SCVL) in Mongolia collected samples from cattle to look for the presence of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) pathogens. The SCVL undertook this study in response to the recommendations of a Mongolia-hosted mission for the “FAO Assessment Tool [...]