FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION

1
Statistics Related to Food Safety and Quality

• Food and Nutrition Division. FAO.

2
Content

• Need of data and information at national and
  international levels
• Type of data needed
• Current availability of data
• Existing problems and limitations
• Recommendations

3
Data / information use at national level

• Risk based systems for food control along the
  food chain
• Food-borne disease and diet-related chronic
  diseases surveillance and control programs
• Interrelationship between food safety, food
  quality and adequate and nutritious food
• Formulation of health, agriculture and trade
  policies

4
Data / information use at international level

• FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives
  (JECFA) food additives, contaminants, natural
  ocurring toxicants and residues of veterinary
  drug residues
• FAO/WHO Experts Meetings on microbiological
  hazards in food (JEMRA)
• Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues
  (JMPR)
• Ad hoc expert consultations

5
Type of data needed

• Different in accordance with the specific purpose
  of a particular activity or measure.
• Different at different steps of the food chain
• Could include technical and economic data for
  cost-benefit analysis

6
Data needs Food production, consumption and
trade

• Food production, import/exports identification
  of priority products requiring major attention
  for both nutrition and food control purposes
• Food consumption evaluation/prediction of
  potential hazards for particular target
  population.
• Food trade detention/rejection of foodstuffs
  facilitate international trade and consumer
  protection from imported/exported products.

7
Data needs Risk assessment

• Prevalence and/or concentration of the hazard in
  food
• Data on effect of various steps and processes of
  the food chain in the fate of the microorganism
  or chemical hazard in food
• Information on the human health impact of
  exposure to the hazard in different populations
• Possible source of contaminants and mechanisms of
  contamination
• Epidemiological and toxicological studies
• Dietary exposure national dietary intake and
  national monitoring basket surveys.

8
Data needs GMOs

• Consumption of genetically modified foods
• Allergenicity associated
• Volume and value of GM food products traded
• Results of certification programs
• Traceability/product tracing of GM products and
  post market monitoring

9
Some international data sources

• FAOSTAT agricultural production statistics, food
  balance sheets, trade flow, Codex Alimentarius
  MRLs for pesticide and veterinary drug residues
• Global Environment Monitoring System. Food
  Contamination Monitoring and Assessment Program
  GEMS/Food
• FAO/UNU International Network of Food Data
  Systems (INFOODS)-LATINFOODS.

10
Sources of data at regional and national levels

• Food contamination monitoring programs
• Food consumption surveys
• Good agricultural and manufacturing practices
  programs
• Surveillance programs

11
Problems to be addressed

• Data from certain countries is sparse or lacking
  all together
• Existing data is sometime not available due
  difficulties to identify proper source or due
  confidentiality issues
• Data in scientific literature is incomplete
• Disaggregate data is not available or information
  on sampling/analytical methods of analysis are
  lacking

12
Harmonization needs

• New data needs to be generated using standard
  methodology
• Sampling protocols
• Validated analytical techniques
• Appropriate data analysis methods and approaches
• Development of statistical models which has the
  potential to allow greater use of limited data
  and prevent data incompatibility problems.

13
Actions to be promoted

• Strengthen and integrate statistical data for
  food safety purposes.
• Promote integration of data from food-borne
  surveillance programs, food monitoring
  contamination programs and national food
  consumption pattern data.
• Better communicate benefits of integrated use of
  data

14
Recommendations

• Develop/enhance networks to facilitate the
  collection of data for use in food safety related
  work
• Enhance capacity building programs to assist
  developing countries in their efforts
• Promote public/private partnership to enhance
  these capacity building efforts

15
Recommendation

• Countries from the region to make concrete steps
  towards identification/integration of data needed
  for food safety and quality purposes and the
  harmonization of the methodologies with
  international efforts in this area.

16
Additional information

• FAO
• Food and Nutrition Division
• http//www.fao.org/es/ESN/index_en.stm