On 7 and 8 July 2021, the National Institute of Public Health of the Republic of Mali launched a new food safety project that will promote the use of Codex Alimentarius standards and codes of practice in the smoked fish sector, in particular, and its potential spillover effects to other value chains, such as grilled/smoked meat and oilseeds will be documented. The three-year project (Promotion of Codex standards and codes of practice in the smoked fish sector and consequences on food safety in other sectors in Mali) will be implemented by FAO starting in 2021. The project - funded by the...

Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) has been effectively used in the field of food safety, and yet it is still a challenge for low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) to fully benefit from it. Among the key issues, it is essential that policy-makers are aware of the usefulness of this technology. In June 2021, FAO contributed a technical article entitled “A Silver Lining of the Pandemic: Whole-Genome Sequencing and Food Safety – The benefits of whole-genome sequencing are far ranging” to a Food Safety Magazine. The article highlights the usefulness of WGS in outbreak investigations and discusses in-depth the importance...

While COVID-19 is not transmitted via food, the virus that causes the disease can be transmitted from person to person and affect producers, processors and distributors while at work, unless suitable precautionary measures are taken. An FAO-led webinar today focused on what measures to use to protect the health of those working along the food supply chain. ‘Getting MAD’ is the solution proposed by FAO Food Safety Officer Jeffrey LeJeune, who explained in an opening presentation that the acronym stands for: Masks, Air and Distance. “Face masks effectively lower the probabilty of COVID transmission in...

Food production, marketing and distribution are essential services. However, with the worrying number of incidents emerging where markets and processing facilities became “hubs of COVID-19 infection”, there is growing concern about the potential impacts of COVID-19 and related containment efforts on food security and livelihoods, especially in contexts of high vulnerability and where populations are already experiencing food crises. Under a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) to support COVID-19 awareness-raising and sensitization campaigns among food chain workers, three FAO publications, including a policy brief on food safety (scroll down...

An emerging foodborne hazard has been detected in several countries in Southeast Asia, prompting FAO to publish a risk profile document. As only little is known and the list of uncertainties and identified data gaps is extensive, a proper risk assessment is not yet possible without sufficient and validated data-sets.  It started in 2015, when at least 146 people got sick by eating raw freshwater fish in Singapore. Some experienced severe consequences, as some had to lose their arms and legs. The illness was later linked to a bacterium called Streptococcus agalactiae, also referred to as Group B Streptococcus (GBS) and...

Institutions, organizations and individuals all over the globe held initiatives for World Food Safety Day yesterday (7 June) and on different days in June. To see write-ups and photos, please visit www.fao.org/world-food-safety-day. A report is under preparation. To submit news and photos, please contact: [email protected] Read about the event that FAO, WHO and Codex hosted here on the World Food Safety Day site  and on the FAO site  The 2021 campaign assets will continue to be available here and on the Trello board. Thank you for your participation in and promotion of #WorldFoodSafetyDay

As the world celebrates World Food Safety Day, the Joint FAO/WHO Scientific Advice Programme is publishing Microbiological Risk Assessment Guidance for Food. In line with the slogan for the day, 'Food safety is everyone’s business', this guidance, developed with experts in the field, is intended for use by all those with a role in microbiological food safety – by governments and competent authorities to develop the assessments that underpin policy and decision making, by academia as a reference and teaching materials, and by the private sector for improving food safety management systems. Microbiological hazards include dangerous bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses such as Salmonella, E. coli, Aspergillus, Cyclospora and norovirus. When food is...

There are various elements connected to food safety and it can be challenging to group them together under the food safety umbrella. In fact, keeping up the pace with the contemporary reality can be challenging, and more and more areas related to food safety emerge: it could be challenging to recognize and trace the links. In June 2021, the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific published a booklet entitled “Layman’s guide to food safety in Asia and the Pacific – Introduction to the food safety toolkit”. The booklet provides a small and unconventional handbook that introduces various food safety...

Safe food is vital for the health of people, animals, economies – and our future. When food is safe, it contributes to food security, good health and wellbeing, reduces loss and waste and increases market access and decent work opportunities. This will be the focus of the World Food Safety Day virtual event taking place on 7 June, which has as its theme: “Safe food now for a healthy tomorrow.” The online discussion, which is hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) together with the Codex Alimentarius Secretariat, will start...

Food allergies are a significant public health concern. With no cure, consumers must avoid the foods to which they are allergic by making informed food choices that include diligently reading food packaging labels and asking questions when making menu selections.    The list of 8 major foods and ingredients (cereals containing gluten, crustacea, egg, fish, peanut and soybeans, milk, tree nuts) known to cause...