The monographs in this volume of the FAO JECFA Monographs on the residues of, statements on, or other parameters of the veterinary drugs on the agenda were prepared by the invited experts for the Seventy-fifth Meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), held in Rome, Italy, 7–17-November 2011. This was the nineteenth meeting of JECFA convened specifically to consider residues of veterinary drugs in food-producing animal species. The Committee had evaluated residues of veterinary drugs at its 12th, 26th, 27th, 32nd, 34th, 36th, 38th, 40th,42nd, 43rd, 45th, 47th, 48th, 50th, 52nd, 54th, 58th, 60th, 62nd, 66th and 70th meetings (JECFA, various dates 1969–2010). The tasks for the Committee were to further elaborate principles for evaluating the...

A number of emerging forms of nanotechnology potentially could provide significant benefits in various sectors, including food, water and agriculture. The current applications in the food and agricultural sectors are relatively few, because the science is still newly emergent. However, the number of nanotechnology-derived products and applications in these sectors has been increasing steadily in recent years, and they are predicted to grow in the future. New and emerging applications such as water purification systems, rapid detection systems for pathogens and chemical contaminants, and nano-enabled renewable energy technology applied along the food chain may contribute to addressing some of the challenges pertaining to sustainable agricultural development, as well as the food safety and food security issues that many countries are...

Low-moisture foods, such as nuts, generally have been considered low risk for foodborne illness because they are consumed in a dry state. In low-moisture foods the water activity (available moisture) is too low to support microbial growth. For example, the water activity in tree nuts is generally less than 0.7. This may lead to the common misconception that low levels of pathogenic bacteria in foods such as tree nuts are not a food safety concern. However, it is increasingly recognized that many foodborne pathogens, including Salmonella and EHEC, can cause illness when present at very low levels, i.e. for illness to occur microbial growth does not need to take place. In addition, once ingested, the high fat content in tree...

To assist member countries prepare themselves to deal with such food safety emergencies, FAO and WHO prepared a framework for developing National Food Safety Emergency Response (FSER) Plans. To support countries in applying the framework, a pilot for the development of a FSER Plan was carried out in Thailand during 2011-2012. FAO also assisted Bangladesh in developing its Food Safety Emergency Response Plan in 2012 under the project Improving Food Safety, Quality and Food Control in Bangladesh. With these two recent experiences of Thailand and Bangladesh in the region, it was decided to share the experiences in developing FSER Plans with other ASEAN countries, including lessons learnt in the process.