A virtual JEMRA meeting on Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) associated with meat and dairy products was convened from 1 to 26 June 2020 to provide scientific advice on measures for pre- and postharvest control of STEC in animals and foods of animal origin. The meeting participants are listed in Annex 1 of this summary report. This document summarizes the conclusions of the meeting. The full report will be published in due course as part of the FAO and WHO Microbiological Risk Assessment (MRA) Series. If conditions had permitted, this meeting would have been held at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy. Because of the travel restrictions and lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries, the joint FAO/WHO secretariat...

In this publication, the FAO Food Safety Foresight programme provides an overview of the major global drivers and trends by describing their implications for food safety in particular and for agrifood systems by extrapolation. The various drivers and trends reported include climate change, changing consumer behaviour and preferences, new food sources and production systems, technological advances, microbiome, circular economy, food fraud, among others.

The fourth World Food Safety Day (WFSD) will be celebrated on 7 June 2022 to draw attention and inspire action to help prevent, detect and manage foodborne risks, contributing to food security, human health, economic prosperity, agricultural production, market access, tourism and sustainable development.  This publication is a guide for all those who want to get involved.        

An expert meeting of the FAO/WHO Joint Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) considered the global evidence on the burden of illness, prevalence and concentration of selected microbial hazards with respect to various spices and dried aromatic herbs, and interventions aimed at controlling them in these commodities. The experts developed the approach to rank the health risks related to the commodity-pathogen combinations, and assessed the performance of the existing Codex sampling plan for Salmonella against several contamination scenarios.

Bactericides, fungicides, and other pesticides play an important role in the management of plant diseases. However, their use can result in residues on plants and in the environment, with potentially detrimental consequences. The use of streptomycin, oxytetracycline, copper-based products, and some fungicides is correlated with increased resistance among plant pathogens to these agents. Likewise, the recent rise in the incidence of environmental triazole fungicide-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus, the cause of aspergillosis in humans, has caused concern, particularly in Europe. Through horizontal gene transfer, genes can be exchanged among a variety of bacteria in the plant production environment, including phytopathogens, soil bacteria, and zoonotic bacteria that are occasionally present in that environment and in the food chain. Through mechanisms of horizontal gene...

Food security means that all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life. Food safety is interlinked with and essential to achieving food security. In times of food insecurity, humanitarian relief in the form of food aid is often distributed by specialized organizations, such as the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). Under conditions of food assistance there are food safety considerations that must be taken in account so as to carefully evaluate the impact on food availability while minimizing the risk of exposure to foodborne contaminants among the receiving population, who may already be vulnerable to malnutrition. This case...

The virtual JEMRA meeting on the Prevention and Control of Microbiological Hazards in Fresh Fruits and Vegetables was convened to provide scientific advice on the general principles and relevant measures for control of microbiological hazards in sprouts from the production of seeds for sprouting, to the production of sprouts and point-of-sale.

Under the best circumstances, agriculture can be a tough business. Today, increasing pressures on the world’s land and water resources are jeopardizing humanity’s ability to feed itself. Exacerbated by climate change, these pressures are making agriculture a more vulnerable and challenging enterprise. Elevated temperatures, changes in water availability, deteriorating soil quality, extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and ocean acidification, among other factors, can have an impact on food production, processing, storage, and distribution, right up to the moment it reaches our tables. In other words, our entire food system is threatened by climate change. This document is an author manuscript version of article that has been published externally in Food Safety Magazine June 16, 2021

While insect consumption by humans or entomophagy has been traditionally practiced in various countries over generations and represents a common dietary component of various animal species (birds, fish, mammals), farming of insects for human food and animal feed is relatively recent. Production of this ‘mini-livestock’ brings with it several potential benefits and challenges. The objective of this document is to provide the reader with an overview of the various food safety issues that could be associated with edible insects. The intended audiences of this publication are food safety professionals, policymakers, researchers, insect producers as well as consumers. The regulatory frameworks that govern production, trade and consumption of insects in various regions are discussed. The document ends with elucidating some other...