A virtual meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meetings on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) of Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-To-Eat (RTE) Food: Attribution, Characterization and Monitoring was held from 20 October to 06 November, 2020. The purpose of the meeting was to review recent data on Listeria monocytogenes and determine the need to modify, update, or develop new risk assessment models and tools for this pathogen. A public call for data and experts was issued to support this work.1 In addition, background documents on the various aspects related to the meeting were prepared ahead of time for consultation by the experts. 

Food provides essential nutrients for human health, well-being and development. However, when unfit for human consumption, food can also be a source of harm as food-borne illness and reduced absorption of nutrients. In the worst-case scenario, food that is not safe can cause death. Food-borne diseases continue to pose a high burden on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly on children under five years of age. Enhanced food safety and hygiene is integral to the successful attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular to SDG2. This guidance note identifies a number of issues to be taken into account for improving the coherence between food security and food safety policies, indicating how food safety considerations could be integrated into the...

Tropane alkaloids are a group of toxic compounds occurring in several plant families of the Solanaceae family, like Datura stramonium, that can contaminate staples like cereals and grains. The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on Tropane Alkaloids carried out a risk assessment of these contaminants in certain food products distributed by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and provided guidance for the development of appropriate operational limits. This document builds on the deliberations from the expert meeting and provides specific guidance on the physical contamination of D. stramonium seeds in different agricultural products, namely wheat, soybean, and maize. This guidance document can be used in conjunction with the 'Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on Tropane Alkaloids' to prevent...

Foodborne parasitic diseases are often neglected in various food safety control systems, even though they can create severe human health problems. Because the production and monetary losses associated with them are often not visible, and the infected animals often show no signs, they are very difficult to detect. Different types of parasitic diseases can be transmitted to humans from pork, fish, freshwater crustaceans, vegetables, eggs of tapeworms, and protozoa. The risks associated with all of them can, however, be avoided through the application of good hygiene, good farming and fishing practices, and the promotion of community awareness. For example, the promotion of a participatory approach and the development of training packages for food business operators would be beneficial in raising...

A meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) was held on a virtual online platform from 26 October – 6 November 2020, with an additional day for approval of the report on 24 November 2020. The purpose of the meeting was to evaluate the acceptability of certain substances as previous cargoes and the safety of certain food contaminants. The present meeting was the 90th in a series of similar meetings.