FOOD SAFETY RISK MANAGEMENT - EVIDENCE-BASED DECISIONS

Establishment of Maximum Limits for Chemical Contaminants in Food (ML)

Quito, Ecuador | June 19 to 23, 2023

The World Health Organization (WHO), the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety (NFS) and the Region, the Pan American Center for Foot and Mouth Disease and Veterinary Public Health of the Pan American Health Organization (PANAFTOSA/SPV-PAHO), are committed to supporting Codex Alimentarius Member States in making more informed decisions on food safety and food risk management.

The role of science is fundamental to maintaining food safety and understanding the causes and mechanisms of Foodborne Diseases (FBD), in order to make risk management decisions, develop guidelines, control measures and evidence-based regulations at regional and global levels.

Risk analysis favors decision making to manage potential risks to consumer health and mitigate possible impacts on food production and marketing. It also contributes to the establishment of priorities among the different challenges that arise in relation to food safety.

The Joint Committee of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Joint Expert Meeting on Food Additives (JECFA), the Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) and the Joint Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) provide scientific advice to Codex Alimentarius for the development of international food safety standards.

PANAFTOSA/SPV-PAHO and the Codex Trust Fund (CTF) have initiated a series of regional training workshops designed to provide better scientific knowledge, technical tools and messages to member countries, industries and consumers. These workshops are aimed at Codex Member Countries with different levels of advancement of their national systems, including available capacity in risk management.

The CTF provides support to developing countries and countries with economies in transition to strengthen their national capacity and participate effectively in the work of Codex, and was present as an observer at the workshop to observe and analyze the interaction of the countries of the region and their hard work together to better understand and then apply the issues learned.

The first series of workshops was held in Quito, Ecuador. It was organized jointly with the Chair of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Codex Alimentarius (CCLAC) and focused on the establishment of maximum residue levels (MLs) for chemical contaminants in food.

The Codex Alimentarius establishes MLs and MRLs for contaminants in food to protect consumer health and ensure that governments, international organizations and the food industry use international standards to promote fair trade in food worldwide.

Thirteen countries of the region participated (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay), as well as experts from the European Union, the World Health Organization - WHO, from Geneva and Ecuador who presented a case analysis.

The event included practical exercises calculating total dietary exposure to a contaminant or toxin based on data on contaminant levels in food and on the amount of food consumed provided by the operational program for the GEMS/Food Analysis Laboratory System of the Global Environment Monitoring System (GEMS/Food) and cases.

Photo © CCLAC