FAO and WHO hold first global forum of food safety regulators

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) are to convene a Global Forum of Food Safety Regulators in Marrakech, Morocco on 28-30 January 2002, the two agencies announced on Thursday.

The Marrakech Forum is the first global event bringing together senior food safety regulators to exchange information on approaches towards and experiences with food safety. The issues involved are of importance to public health and the international food trade. The Forum will also aim to stimulate science-based public consultations, and to help build food safety capacity, particularly in developing countries.

FAO and WHO organised the Forum at the request of member countries that urged the organisations to coordinate consultations among food safety regulators on urgent food safety issues. The Forum is also a response to the G-8 communiqué at Okinawa calling for "periodic international meetings of food safety regulators to advance the process of science-based public consultations."​

Subjects to be covered at the Forum include: transboundary food safety emergencies; new food inspection techniques; risk management for the reduction of food borne diseases; improvements to food safety systems, especially in developing countries; and resource mobilisation.

Discussions will look at the role of industry and consumers, and how they perceive science-based food safety regulations.

International organisations attending as observers include: the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the World Bank and other development agencies.

Participants in the Marrakech Forum will come largely from regulatory bodies for food safety in the Ministries of Agriculture and Health of FAO and WHO member countries. Representatives of independent food safety agencies and other ministries with responsibilities for food safety, and international Non-governmental Organizations (INGOs) representing industry, producers, trade and retail associations, and consumer groups will also attend.