An online event will take place on Thursday, 9 May 2024 from 14:30 to 15:30 CEST via Zoom. Based on the recent FAO publication, the webinar aims to stimulate discussion on the food safety aspects that need to be considered and addressed when using environmental inhibitors in agrifood systems. The challenge of feeding an increasing global population while responding to the climate crisis requires developing practices and technologies that enhance the sustainability of food production. “Among the approaches that are being developed to increase the sustainability of agrifood systems, environmental inhibitors help reduce negative impacts on the environment while improving the production...

Over a thousand participants from more than 75 countries joined the landmark publication launch webinar on food safety aspects of cell-based food, jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in April 2023. This strong turnout underscores the rapidly growing interests in the topic of cell-based food. This week, FAO has released the joint report of the webinar, which provides a comprehensive summary of the discussions that took place during the webinar. This webinar touched upon various aspects of the topic, including regulatory activities that are related...

A new report on the safety and regulatory aspects of cell-based food in the Near East region has been published in March 2024. The publication reports a side event organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) on the occasion of the 11th Session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for the Near East (CCNE11) held in September 2023. Fifty-three participants from Near East countries attended the meeting, with eighteen in-person and thirty-five online attendees. The report summarizes the discussions held at the event, including the information on...

Do all processed foods and ingredients derived from foods known to cause allergies need to be labeled as such, even though allergen-causing components of the foods may have been altered during processing? The ad hoc joint FAO/WHO expert consultation on risk assessment of food allergens released part 4 report that addresses this question and describes a framework for government authorities or food business operators to consider when or if exempting these foods from allergen labeling would be acceptable. Allergens in foods are primarily made up of proteins. When foods are processed or refined, the protein structure...

Earlier this month, FAO began an assessment to improve the food control system in Egypt. The 6.4-million-euro project, "Strengthening of Capacities and Governance in Food and Phytosanitary Control” project, funded by the European Union (EU) since December 2021, is providing technical support and working with Competent Authorities and other leading institutions in 12 African Union member countries to build up capabilities, strengthen governance and improve strategic planning around two main components: food safety and plant health. Following a recent extension granted by the EU, Egypt has become one of the two additional beneficiaries of the project,...

The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) has published its summary report of the 98th meeting. International experts gathered at FAO headquarters in Rome from 20 to 29 February 2024 to evaluate the safety of residues from veterinary drugs, representing the 25th JECFA meeting to specifically consider this topic. Alan Chicoine (University of Saskatchewan) served as Chairperson and Alan R. Boobis (Imperial College London) as Vice-Chairperson, while Holly Erdely (United States Food and Drug Administration) and Angelo Moretto (University of Padova) served as rapporteurs for FAO and WHO, respectively. Vittorio Fattori (FAO) remarked on the...

The 2024 joint FAO and WHO World Food Safety Day campaign has been launched today, and the year’s theme has been revealed as: Food safety - prepare for the unexpected. The campaign will explore issues around unexpected food safety incidents that can occur even when we have all played our part to keep food safe. Such incidents can be as simple as a power outage at home and the subsequent challenges in storing food safely. On the other end of the scale, international food safety alerts involve contamination or potential contamination within the food supply, the origins...

Last week FAO concluded an eight-month assessment of Zimbabwe’s food control system with a final workshop in Harare where a strategic action plan was presented to high level officials for their endorsement. The assessment is part of "Strengthening of Capacities and Governance in Food and Phytosanitary Control,” a 6.4-million-euro project funded by the European Union (EU) since December 2021. With a recent extension, the project will expand its reach, offering technical support to Competent Authorities and key institutions across 12 African Union Member Countries. It is designed to build up capabilities, strengthen governance, and improve strategic...

FAO, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), will hold a stakeholder roundtable meeting on cell-based food production and precision fermentation on 10 October 2024. This is the third meeting in the series, and relevant developers, producers and researchers can apply to the call to present their original products. A call for presenters is now open, and the selected presenters will have an opportunity to meet other stakeholders from various parts of the world to discuss their products and to share relevant experiences. The meeting will capture a snapshot for the 2024...

The 98th meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) is taking place from 20-29 February 2024 at FAO headquarters in Rome. This session brings together international experts to assess residues of veterinary drugs in food. Vittorio Fattori, FAO Food Safety Officer, Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division (ESF), noted that “As an independent scientific expert committee, JECFA has been meeting since 1956 to evaluate the safety of food additives, contaminants, naturally occurring toxicants and residues of veterinary drugs in food. The scientific advice provided by JECFA has been and continues to be the...