FAO Global Agrifood Biotechnologies Conference
Biotechnologies for a Sustainable Future: Driving Agrifood Systems Transformation
Programme
16 - 18 june 2025, FAO, Rome
Collaborative approaches for ensuring safety of biotechnological applications in food
Tuesday 17 June
16.00 - 17.30
Red Room
The primary objective of the technical session is to take stocks of what global, regional and national efforts have been made, so that participants can recognize key synergies between food safety and various biotechnology applications in the agrifood systems. This session also discusses the current affairs of safety assessment of foods derived from biotechnologies from various perspectives with the emphasis on the importance of strengthening the Community of Practices (CoPs) to foster international collaborations, particularly for those from low- and middle-income countries, to benefit from exchanging good practices and lessons learned.
- Welcome remarks: Strengthening One Health through food safety leadership
Mr Divine Njie, Deputy Director, Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Ice-breaker: Regulating genetic technology applications with a focus on food safety
- Case 1: Navigating innovation and consumer trust
Ms Jessica Dewhurst, Food Standards Agency (FSA), United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - Case 2: Data-sharing for biotechnology and safety frameworks
Ms Jothi Malar Panandam, Retired Professor of Universiti Putra, Genetic Modification Advisory Committee Member, Malyasia Malaysia),Genetic Modification Advisory Committee (GMAC), Malaysia - Case 3: Biosafety decision making with limited resources for food safety assessment
Mr Christopher Simuntala, Head of Standards and Technical Liaison, National Biosafety Authority, Zambia (On-line) - Case 4: Building robust scientific advice for safe biotechnologies
Ms Nikoletta Papadopoulou, Team Leader – Molecular Characterisation, Nutrition and Food Innovation Unit, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Parma, Italy
International collaboration: Data-sharing and facilitating the Communities of Practices (CoPs)
- Case 1: Supporting global dialogue and evidence-based decision-making: FAO GM Foods Platform
Ms Masami Takeuchi, Food Safety Officer, FAO (On-line) - Case 2: Importance of information sharing under the Convention of Biological Diversity: Biosafety Clearing House (BCH)
Ms Wadzanayi Mandivenyi, Biosafety Clearing House Manager, Biosafety Unit, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Canada - Case 3: Regulatory cooperation on novel foods and feeds: OECD BioTrack Product Database
Mr Satoshi Nakano, Policy analyst, Harmonisation of Regulatory Oversight in Biotechnology, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (On-line)
Structured discussion sessions and closing
Facilitated by Mr Markus Lipp, Senior Food Safety Officer, FAO