Food recall is a fundamental tool in the management of risks in response to food safety events and emergencies. Some countries are still in need of an effective recall system and the necessary infrastructure to support it. The purpose of the document is to support countries in establishing and implementing an effective national food recall system to respond to food safety events or emergencies. By drawing on demonstrated best practices, the elements for an effective national food recall system, and the process for establishing, reviewing and/or improving the national food recall system, are described as essential components of a national food control system.

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...