As the Codex Committee on Food Labelling gathers for its 46th session, we spoke with Christine Kopko, FAO Food Safety Officer, about the assurance that labels bring to consumers and the importance of international approaches to indicating what is in our food products.  Why should consumers read food labels?  I think, as kids, we spent a lot of time unconsciously reading the cereal box as we slurped our breakfast during our morning routine. In fact, just the other day, I caught my teens comparing the fibre content in the respective cereal choices rather than their normal “who’s who on TikTok”...

A meeting of experts, convened by FAO and WHO, is now underway to collect, review and discuss the measures necessary to reduce the risk of microbial contamination in fresh fruits and vegetables, including leafy greens. The FAO/WHO Joint Meeting Expert Meeting on the Prevention and Control of Microbiological Hazards in Fresh Fruits and Vegetables is looking at aspects of primary production (in open fields or in protected facilities such as high and low tunnels, greenhouses, net houses as well as hydroponic and aquaponics systems). The purpose is to identify and evaluate solutions to reduce foodborne illnesses associated with fresh fruits and...

Parasites in food can infect in humans via the consumption of contaminated vegetables or animal food products, such as pork, raw fish or crustaceans, and they can lead to severe human health problems. While it may not be common to see this topic addressed, knowing how parasites are transmitted,the effects they can have, and any preventive measures can be extremely beneficial. The FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, as part of the tripartite with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), published a set of one-page leaflets on some parasitic diseases, namely Clonorchiasis and...

FAO and WHO have released a publication, now available in six languages, that encapsulates what transpired on World Food Safety Day (7 June 2021). The 24-page report, entitled World Food Safety Day 2021 - An overview of festivity and creativity, offers a glimpse into the impressive array of events, initiatives and campaigns organized by government authorities, private sector actors, academics, schools and others in around 90 countries. There were countless virtual events again this year, at local, national, regional and global level and the scale of many of these events was only possible because of the wonders of the internet. “World...

The World Food Safety Day 2021 report will be launched in all six official UN languages as part of an all-day Twitter event on 7 September. The ‘Tweet-a-thon’, led by the Codex Twitter handle @FAOWHOCodex, will be a chance to raise awareness about food safety. Governments, businesses, non-governmental organizations, international organizations and individuals organized webinars, shared food safety materials on social media and celebrated World Food Safety Day (7 June) this year in ways that were festive and creative, and have been documented in the 24-page report. At midnight (00:00 CET on 7 September) the first tweet will link to the bookazine-style...

Technical experts from different parts of the world met virtually for the 92nd meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) on 7-18 June 2021. Various food additives (flavouring agents and enzyme preparations) were evaluated for their safety and recommendations were made for the work of future JECFA meetings. Food additives are substances that are added to food to maintain or improve its safety, taste, texture, freshness, or appearance. They can be derived from plants, animals or minerals or they can be synthesized chemically. Based on their functions food additives are classified into many categories, some examples are:...

Small Island Developing States, or SIDS, (in the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Oceans and the Caribbean) are pursuing innovative ways of overcoming challenges within their food systems. Many SIDS treasure their traditions and uphold the ways of hunting, fishing and gathering food they learned from previous generations, as many islands are rich in tree fruits and wild marine fish. Because of this, systematic farming agriculture was not practiced until some decades ago in many SIDS and, as a result, they can face food-nutrition insecurity situations or largely rely on imported food products. Examples in the Pacific For example, many Pacific Island countries are...

As many as 500 million people around the world have to be careful about what they eat because certain foods can cause a dangerous allergic reaction, and even be life-threatening. But how much of substance is enough to cause a reaction? That was a question for a joint FAO-WHO committee in March 2021, when the second in a series of three meetings was held on foodborne allergens. During their first meeting, which began in December 2020, the Ad hoc Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Risk Assessment of Food Allergens recommended to Codex Alimentarius Commission, the body responsible for establishing international standards...

FAO and WHO have been convening expert meetings and consultations to assess food safety risks for decades – two, to be exact, when it comes to microbiological hazards, such as bacteria, viruses and parasites. Technical experts from different disciplines and different parts of the world gather for the periodic meetings on microbiological risk assessment that are known by the acronym, JEMRA. The meetings are held in response to requests for scientific advice from the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the international food standard-setting body jointly coordinated by FAO and WHO, as well in response to other identified emerging needs. “Last year, when JEMRA...

Consumers may see making sure that food is safe to eat as something that food businesses or governments do, but food safety is really everyone’s business. Regulations only go so far and critical actions remain in the hands of food handlers – including the people who produce, process, store, transport, sell, prepare and consume food. Therefore, it is important for governments to support food producers, industries and consumers to delegate the responsibilities of food safety. Developing a food safety culture is one of the most effective approaches to getting everyone in the food supply chain to fully appreciate applying good food...