Food Safety (FOS)

The work of WHO in food safety includes both technical cooperation with member countries to strengthen national food safety programmes, and normative functions such as developing scientific basis for managing food safety programmes, setting food standards and regulations. The food safety area of work aims to assist Member countries to ensure consumer protection and significantly reduce the incidence of foodborne illnesses through the application of preventive and scientific based approaches and strategies. This goal is pursued by:

• Assisting countries to streamline food safety considerations into various health systems and programmes;
• Building capacity of member states to develop food safety policies, strategies and programmes;
• Collaborating with national governments and international partners in the development and implementation of prevention and control strategies for foodborne disease outbreaks;
• Promoting foodborne disease surveillance and monitoring in Member States.
• Promotion of Information, Education and Communication programmes on food safety.

Successful organization of Global Salm Surv courses on laboratory-based food borne disease surveillance have provided capacity in countries to detect the early onset outbreaks of foodborne diseases including cholera, salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis, shigellosis etc.

Capacity building workshops on the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system and food inspection have been organized in several countries. As of 2007, thirty-eight nationals from 35 countries were supported by the Codex Trust Fund to attend 17 codex meetings. This has in turn greatly enhanced the participation of Member States in the work of the Codex. Recognizing that effective participation does not mean mere attendance at meetings, training courses have been organized on the procedures and work of the Codex Alimentarius for more than 50 regulators from 35 countries. Several countries have also been supported to develop food legislation and food safety policies to provide the legal and policy basis for food safety work in countries. Information Education and Communication activities using The WHO Five Keys to Safer Foods have been supported in more than 15 countries and have raised awareness for food safety among policy makers, consumers and food handlers.