Sixth DIFSC – Dubai, 28/2-1/3/2011

Achieving Food Safety in Emerging Economies: the Role of Regional and International Harmonization and Third Party Inspection Systems

Ezzeddine Boutrif Former Director Nutrition and Consumer Protection Division, FAO

Outline of Presentation

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What are the “Emerging Economies”?

Place of the GCC countries Food security – a multi dimensional challenge The inter-dependence of food security, food safety and nutrition Integrated policies for food security chain’ approach – the ‘twin track’ approach – and food safety – the ‘food Future food safety policy challenges and Conclusions

What are the “Emerging Economies”?

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Terms used: emerging economies; emerging markets; emerging market economies; rapidly developing economies; etc.

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Several definitions and classifications can be found in the literature. They are loosely used and differ slightly according to the origin and the intended use.

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For the purpose of this presentation, Emerging markets/Economies are defined as nations with social or business activity in the process of rapid growth and industrialization. In 2010, there are some 35 emerging markets/economies in the world, with the economies of China and India considered to be the largest.

Food Safety in Emerging Markets/Economies- Main Features

 Rapid agro-business development oriented primarily for export market, or for international or national supermarket chains in large cities;  Co-existence of a dual production system: one for export /supermarket chains and the other for local market.

 Food safety systems have not been developed at the same pace as agro-business  numerous incidences of rejections/bans and serious food contamination/adulteration cases (melamine, Sudan red).

Food Safety in Emerging Markets/Economies-Main Features (2)

 Food safety development effort was mostly directed towards the regulatory food control, with little attention to up-stream quality assurance systems along the food chain;  Domestic food supply destined to low-income population received little attention from food safety authorities, with negative consequences on consumers’ health.

The GCC Countries – Specific Features

 High income countries, with strong consumer purchasing power  Limited agricultural resources – over 80% of food supply is imported  Food safety authorities must ensure that the food supply is safe and of the required quality (no dumping)  They must also ensure national food security.

Policy challenges to implement food safety in GCC Countries

 Harmonization of food safety regulations regionally and internationally;  Provision of scientific justification to more stringent standards;  Implementation of common entry points;  Ensuring the implementation of the food chain approach on imported foods – equivalence and third party certification;  Addressing the specific needs of the informal food sector .

Challenges to Public Policy Development

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Good policy development requires assessing and balancing economic, social and environmental impacts to find the “best” outcome

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Conflicting interests are inevitable – all parties impacted by new policies need to be engaged and consulted

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Integrated policies are increasingly being demanded by governments and through international agreements

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Integrated policy development is difficult and slow – it requires diverse inputs and skills, transparency and inclusiveness over different dimensions

Global Food Insecurity

Location and duration of food emergencies 2010 

Despite growth in food production global food security has not been achieved

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The number of chronically hungry people has increased steadily from the 1990s and is now close to 1 billion

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Reasons behind food insecurity are complex – no one policy can address all the factors at play: rather a systematic integrated approach is required

Integrating Food Security and Food Safety Policy Food security:

physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe their dietary needs and food preferences

for an active and healthy life. [World Food Summit, 2009]

all people, at all times, have and nutritious food to meet

The four pillars of food security are availability , access , utilization and stability .

Both food safety and nutrition are now seen as integral to food security But how does food safety contribute to food security?

Contribution of food safety to food security

 Prevention and reduction of foodborne illness among vulnerable populations, increasing productivity and livelihoods  Reducing food losses (pre and post harvest), increasing available food  Increasing market access, increasing purchasing power

A “ Twin Track ” approach to food security

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Rural Development /Productivity Enhancement: ensure policies and programmes to sustainably boost food supply and establish resilient food systems that deliver safe and quality food 2.

Direct and immediate access to food: through both direct food transfer, social safety nets, provision of resources, public work programmes, and nutrition intervention programmes 3.

The “four pillars” are integral to this approach

Focus on food safety

Increasing population and demand for food Changing human/animal interactions Changing hazards e.g. resistant microbes

Food chain approach

 Food safety hazards may arise

at different stages of the food supply

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Food control – both at the public and private level – has moved to a “food chain approach”: all actors in the chain are responsible for food safety – A PREVENTATIVE APPOACH BASED ON RISK ANALYSIS RATHER THAN REACTIVE APPROACH

Reorientation of roles and responsibilities

Role of Governments is to be guarantors of the system Open, transparent dialogue Private/Public Partnership Food producers and enterprises – develop and manage systems, and to ensure food is safe and have legal responsibility to meet food safety requirements set by the government

Good practices in the food production chain

...... and the

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point system (HACCP)

at relevant points in the chain ...... optimizes

quality and safety of food products throughout the food chain. It is an integral approach to food safety

The role of Codex in international food safety policy

 The primary international instrument to promote international harmonization of national food safety and quality standards and facilitate food trade  All measures must be science-based  Referred under the WTO SPS agreement Codex standards benchmark standards for national food control and in trade disputes on food safety/quality

Value of meeting international food safety standards to food security

World Bank research estimates that adopting international (Codex) standards for:  aflatoxin (B1) would increase African nut and grain exports by some US$670 million per year and expand global cereal and nut trade by US$38.8 billion  pesticide residue limits in bananas would raise African banana exports by about US$410 million a year  veterinary drug residues would boost South Africa’s beef exports by US$160 million a year

Challenges to meeting food safety

 implementing food safety measures in a world of  increasing food insecurity  recession and financial crisis  increasingly variable climatic conditions  importance of communicating and illustrating the value of food safety  retaining food safety as an integral part of the food security agenda

Concerns with meeting food safety requirements

 Limitations of developing countries and those susceptible to food insecurity to implement effective food safety systems  Cost of implementation of food safety measures and compliance with standards  Diversity of food safety standards  public vs private standards  certification costs  different requirements for different markets  possible increase in cost of food thereby making it less affordable to poor consumers

Food safety in times of food shortage – finding the balance

 When food is in short supply, can policy makers accept lower food safety standards to protect food security?  Can simple measures be taken at point of use to improve food safety?

 Need to take into account the risks and the long term effects of under-nutrition in the risk analysis process (acute vs chronic effects of food safety hazards)

Capacity building as the driver of food safety policy integration

 Many developing countries lack adequate capacity to develop integral policies for food security and safety  Food safety is still under-acknowledged by decision makers and given lower priority by major donors; though this is changing  Food safety capacity building efforts must aim to enhance individual and institutional capacities to enable countries to:  develop integrated policies and programmes to enhance production of safe, quality food;    meaningfully participate and apply Codex standards; support and enhance the agro-processing sector; and facilitate international food trade and improved market access

Guidance/Tools

On-line/CD training manual for FFV GAP On-line course in GHP for coffee

FAO food safety website: http://www.fao.org/ag/agn Codex web site: www.codexalimentarius.net

Food safety portal:

http://www.ipfsaph.org/En/default.jsp

Conclusions

 Global food security is a multi-dimensional problem and requires integrated policy responses  Food security, safety, and nutrition are inter-dependent   An integrated food chain approach enhances the linkage between food safety, nutrition and food security The “twin track” approach to food security – addresses both acute and long term problems: food safety and nutrition are integral to this approach   Capacity Development frameworks will better integrate and guide food safety capacity building efforts Food safety is dynamic – public policies need to be flexible to address new risks and adopt integrated preventative approaches.

Thank you!

Questions?