Netherlands- Dutch plan to get tough on antibiotics
29 Dec.2010
Meatingplace [edited] [BITES]
The Dutch Minister of Agriculture has written to the Dutch Parliament confirming support for a new plan to reduce the use of antibiotics in livestock by 50 percent by 2013. The core of the plan is the central registry of the use of drugs by both veterinarians and farmers. Currently, there is an investigation by the Health Ministry on the risks of using antibiotics in livestock for human health. If the results of this investigation indicate that further tightening of the use of antibiotics is necessary then the Minister of Agriculture will take further action.

Ukraine- E. coli in Polish meat exports
2 Dec. 2010
thenews.pl [edited] [BITES]
The Ukrainian state veterinary committee has expressed concern over the quality of Polish meat exports, claiming some items have been discovered carrying traces of E coli. A ban on meat exports from Poland is not yet being considered. It was reported that quantities of Polish bacon were contaminated with antibiotics and E. coli. Also, over 20 tons of Polish meat has been exported to Slovakia and was discovered to be contaminated with salmonella.

First global guidelines for aquaculture certification finalized
1 October 2010
FAO [edited] [BITES]
The first global guidelines for aquaculture certification have been adopted by the Sub-Committee on Aquaculture of the Committee on Fisheries, part of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Over 50 countries attended the meeting of the sub-committee, which is the only global intergovernmental forum discussing aquaculture development. The guidelines, which are non-binding, cover animal health, food safety, the environment and socio-economic issues relating to aquaculture workers. They will now go to the Committee on Fisheries when it meets in Rome in January 2011 for approval. If the guidelines are followed in full by countries, certification will enable consumers standing at the fish counter to know whether the shrimp they are considering buying were raised without damaging a coastal mangrove swamp, whether the fish farm worker was paid a fair wage, and whether the shell fish is free of contamination. Although aquatic animal health and food safety issues have been subjected to certification and international compliance for many years, the new guidelines mark the first time animal welfare, environmental issues and socio-economic aspects have been subjected to compliance or certification.

Food safety and risk governance in globalized markets
01 July 2010
Discussion Paper [edited] [BITES]
A new generation of food safety policy is emerging in OECD countries and international public health forums. The United States has actively contributed to the thinking and scientific research underlying this new generation of policy. A consensus has emerged among nations about the basic components of an effective food safety system based on modern science and management practices. In shorthand, the vision is of a farm-to-fork, risk-based, scientifically supported safety control system. This system is built on several decades of experience with risk management in national governments, particularly in U.S. environmental and occupational and consumer safety policy.

Food safety policy and economics – A review of the literature
01 July 2010 Discussion Paper [edited] [BITES]
This paper provides an overview of developments in food safety policy in major industrial countries and of economic analysis of this policy. It describes the elements of a risk-based, farm-to-fork food safety system as it is emerging in OECD countries guided by discussions through Codex Alimentarius and traces its roots in the development of risk management policy in the United States.

Food safety is critical to nutrition security
20 Jan 2010
SciDev.net [edited][FSNet]
WHO's Jørgen Schlundt writes that food safety as well as nutrition needs to be focused on to feed the hungry — but there are many barriers to safe eating.
The concept of nutrition security — ensuring access to food that is nutritious as well as sufficient — is increasingly being used to stress the importance of the quality of food for people of all ages.
Poor nutrition weakens immune systems and contributes to half the deaths associated with infectious disease among children aged under five in developing countries. Undernutrition in the early years of life can also impair long-term cognitive development and productivity at work.
Micronutrient deficiencies also have severe health impacts — vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of blindness in children, affecting up to half a million children each year. Iodine deficiency causes brain damage and iron deficiency is responsible for anaemia in two billion people worldwide.
Safety and nutrition links
But there is another aspect of food quality that is equally important — safety.
Nutrition and food safety are inextricably linked, particularly in places where food supplies are insecure. When food becomes scarce, hygiene, safety and nutrition are often ignored as people shift to less nutritious diets and consume more 'unsafe foods' — in which chemical, microbiological, zoonotic and other hazards pose a health risk.
Unsafe food, whether arising from poor quality supplies or inadequate treatment and preparation, increases the risk of foodborne infections such as diarrhea. These infections have a much higher impact on populations of poor nutritional status, where diarrhoea can easily lead to serious illness and death.
Indeed, poor nutrition and foodborne disease often join hands in a vicious cycle of worsening health. For example, poor nutritional status weakens resistance against diarrhoea, which, in turn, leads to the uptake of fewer nutrients and poorer nutritional status.
Food safety must be systematically integrated into policies and interventions to improve nutrition and food availability.
The first step is for all countries to adopt and adhere to international standards on food safety, such as those developed by the WHO and Food and Agriculture Organization through the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
Efficient food safety interventions often require coordinated action throughout the food safety chain. For example, if chickens are infected with Salmonella at a farm, how they are then treated at the slaughterhouse, in the shop or market and in the kitchen all determine the number of bacteria that reach consumers, and so the number of people getting sick (or dying).
Likewise, if the level of a hazardous chemical can be followed in the different stages of food production we will also learn where to introduce the most efficient prevention measures.
Importantly, international standards are non-negotiable and should apply equally to populations — an acceptable level of food contamination is not higher for starving people than for others.
There should not be one framework for food that is exported and another for food consumed locally as has previously been the case even in some developed countries. By the same token, there should not be one framework for populations with sufficient nutrition and another for hungry ones.
Coherent and holistic national food safety systems would not only improve health in countries with insecure food supplies — they would also help development and boost food trade. A national system that can live up to international standards will ensure that local products can be exported to other markets.
There are many obstacles to building efficient food safety systems, not least the lack of political awareness. Food safety as a local health and development problem is still rarely acknowledged by decision makers in many developing countries, and is often given little priority by major donors.
Recent food safety scandals and a growing knowledge base are slowly making a change. When the BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) scandal hit Europe in the 1990s, it led to a major overhaul of the system. Likewise, new data on antimicrobial resistance has led to the discontinuation of antimicrobial growth promoters in some countries.
It is also clear that one major obstacle to improving food safety systems, particularly in developing countries, is the lack of data on the burden of foodborne diseases both globally and within nations. Such data are critical to establishing evidence-based national and international food safety policies.