Trade And Food Standards

This publication emphasizes the importance of participation and engagement of governments in standards development in Codex and in resolving trade concerns in the WTO SPS and TBT Committees, as well as the importance of capacity development, which together contribute to the dynamism and robustness of the global system of food standards and trade.

This WTO/FAO copublication focuses on the institutional framework for international trade in food, the significance of international food standards, and the benefits for public health and for trade that can be derived through the implementation of such standards. It aims to raise awareness of international food standards, highlighting the importance of coordination and cooperation among agriculture, health, and trade authorities.

This is one of the first books to draw together information and views about international control of food safety from around the world. Demands for safe food, against a background of increasing trade, are making international controls on food safety essential. Agreements on how to control the safety of food to meet these needs are now in place among the major trading blocks, particularly in Europe and in the USA, and more recently, in Australia. This book also describes progress in areas such as systematically reviewing risk from food; developing national infrastructures to enforce standards; and growing input from consumer groups and others, including economists, to the debate on how to set international food standards. Discussed in depth is the effort to achieve global standards for food safety under the auspices of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. There are chapters from world-leading experts on Codex, international control of radiological contamination, pesticides and veterinary drugs, and other chemical contaminants.

This book provides an economic perspective on the effects of food safety standards on international trade. Focusing on food safety regulation at an international level and private food safety standards, the authors use contemporary methodologies to analyze supply chain structures and organization as well as food-chain actors’ strategies. They also evaluate the effects of these on both consumer health and developing countries’ access to international markets. The book provides ideas, suggestions and policy recommendations for reconciling economic interests with consumer health, which will be of special interest to academics as well as to practitioners.

This work examines the regulation of the increasingly global food system. It analyzes the underlying causes of the trade conflicts, and outlines the steps that could be taken to ensure that food safety and open trade become at the least compatible and at best mutually supporting.

How safe is our food supply? Each year the media report what appears to be growing concern related to illness caused by the food consumed by Americans. These food borne illnesses are caused by pathogenic microorganisms, pesticide residues, and food additives. Recent actions taken at the federal, state, and local levels in response to the increase in reported incidences of food borne illnesses point to the need to evaluate the food safety system in the United States. This book assesses the effectiveness of the current food safety system and provides recommendations on changes needed to ensure an effective science-based food safety system. Ensuring Safe Food discusses such important issues as: What are the primary hazards associated with the food supply? What gaps exist in the current system for ensuring a safe food supply? What effects do trends in food consumption have on food safety? What is the impact of food preparation and handling practices in the home, in food services, or in production operations on the risk of food borne illnesses? What organizational changes in responsibility or oversight could be made to increase the effectiveness of the food safety system in the United States? Current concerns associated with microbiological, chemical, and physical hazards in the food supply are discussed. The book also considers how changes in technology and food processing might introduce new risks. Recommendations are made on steps for developing a coordinated, unified system for food safety. The book also highlights areas that need additional study. Ensuring Safe Food will be important for policymakers, food trade professionals, food producers, food processors, food researchers, public health professionals, and consumers.

Official and officially recognized inspection and certification systems are fundamentally important and very widely used means of food control systems. The confidence of consumers in the safety and quality of their food supply depends in part on their perception as to the effectiveness of these systems as food control measures. A substantial part of the worldwide trade in food depends upon the use of inspection and certification systems. Following the FAO/WHO Conference on Food Standards, Chemicals in Food and Food Trade in 1991, the Codex Alimentarius Commission undertook the development of guidance documents for governments and other interested parties on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems. This third edition includes texts adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission up to 2007.

The increasing globalization of food trade and the harmonization of food standards and food safety rules have led to significant changes in the international and national regulatory frameworks for food. There is an increasing recognition of the need to integrate and improve coordination of regulatory activities among national and international bodies for better protection of human, animal and plant life and health without creating unnecessary barriers to trade. In addition, catastrophic outbreaks of food-borne disease have sparked increasing attention to the regulatory frameworks for food safety and food trade in the global arena. These developments have given rise to new legislative needs. National regulatory frameworks have to be adjusted to meet international and regional obligations, while the distribution of responsibilities for the food sector requires rigorous review. The present text draws on FAO's experience in providing technical assistance to governments developing new food laws and regulations, setting out and examining the many elements of the national system which should be taken into account in a comprehensive review of national regulatory frameworks for food. Towards that end, the text offers concrete recommendations for the preparation of a basic national food law, including three variants of a new model food law.