INVITATION TO WEBINAR on INFOSAN & CODEX 06

Webinar on INFOSAN and Codex as part of the World Food
Safety Day
6 June 2023
15:00 – 16:30 CET
CODEX Guidelines on food safety emergencies and INFOSAN
Concept note
Webinar objective
– Highlight the role of Codex standards in international food trade
– Discuss the current support of Codex standards to INFOSAN operation
– Identify the future support needed from Codex for more effective international response to food
safety emergencies and INFOSAN’s contribution to that
– Gather INFOSAN members’ ideas for a potential future Codex work and ways to proceed.
Current landscape
Since its creation in 2004, the FAO/WHO International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) has
facilitated the rapid exchange of information across borders and between its members, during hundreds of
food safety events. As a member-driven global network, INFOSAN is a practical, effective and efficient tool for
information exchange, allowing for the implementation of risk management measures to prevent foodborne
illness and save lives. The core of INFOSAN’s work is based on and is guided by international standards. In
particular, the international standards concerning food safety emergencies are based on FAO/WHO Codex
Alimentarius’ texts, or “Food Code”, which is a collection of international standards, guidelines, and codes of
practice to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade. INFOSAN also makes
use of the “FAO/WHO framework for developing national food safety emergency response plans”
1 which
reinforces preparedness and recognizes the importance of national capacities for a rapid response to food
safety emergencies and the need for an associated effective multi-agency coordination mechanism. INFOSAN
also uses other guidance materials that are in line with CODEX, such as the “WHO Strategic Framework for
Emergency Preparedness”
2which is a unifying framework that identifies the principles and elements of
effective country health emergency preparedness.
Codex and INFOSAN
The link between Codex and INFOSAN originates in the 2004 revision of the Codex text “Principles and
Guidelines for the Exchange of Information in Food Safety Emergency Situations”
3
. The 2004 revision required
the establishment of national contact points and triggered the creation of INFOSAN in the same year.
NFOSAN’s role has also been highlighted in the recent 2022 Codex Guidelines on the management of biological
foodborne outbreaks4
.
Rationale for this webinar
1
FAO/WHO framework for developing national food safety emergency response plans
https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/8f6e46af-7e8b-554a-8f9f-95f87084439c/
2 A strategic framework for emergency preparedness https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/a-strategic-frameworkfor-emergency-preparedness
3 Principles and Guidelines for the Exchange of Information in Food Safety Emergency Situations
https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/shproxy/jp/?
Since the establishment of INFOSAN in 2004, a global network jointly managed by WHO and FAO, the
Secretariat and its network has made use of international standards in food safety emergencies and
furthermore was in the position of almost two decades to support and shape the landscape of Codex and
national standard setting indirectly through the knowledge exchange within the Network. The daily activities
of INFOSAN have helped the international community of food safety competent authorities to better
understand the role and applicability of international standards in food safety emergencies. This webinar will
explore the role of INFOSAN regarding the use of international standards in food safety ncies and
discuss how this join work could be further adapted and further developed using lessons learnt from
international food safety emergencies.
Key questions to be addressed during the webinar
– Why does it matter to have an international Codex standard for the exchange of information in food
safety emergencies?
– How are international standards assisting the INFOSAN Secretariat in contributing to international
response to food safety emergencies?
– What is the perception of Member States on the impact of international guidelines for response to
food safety emergencies and role of INFOSAN?
– Perceived gaps and thoughts for further Codex work to enhance the effectiveness of international
response to food safety emergencies and INFOSAN contribution to that.
Webinar audience
INFOSAN members only. Registration under the following link:
https://who.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_bjIoQr9AQ_-dClPuWOg9oA
Format
On-line one-and-a half hour panel discussion with interventions from relevant stakeholders.
The panel will be followed by Q&A session.
The webinar will be hosted via Zoom, with a dedicated space for written Q&A.
Agenda:
Time Topic Speaker
15:00-15:05 Introduction and housekeeping Moderator: Dr Moez Sanaa,
Head of Unit, Standards and
Scientific Advice on Food and Nutrition,
WHO
15:05-15:15 Building resilience of agrifood systems with
Codex standards and INFOSAN
Dr Eleonora Dupouy, Food Safety Officer,
Food Systems and Food Safety Division, FAO
15:15-15:25 Presentation from CODEX: Guidelines on food
safety emergency situations
Speaker: Diego Varela, CODEX Alimentarius
Vice-Chair, Chile
15:25-15:35 Presentation from WTO: Food safety information
sharing and trade
Speaker: Christiane Wolff, Head of Sanitary
and phytosanitary Section, WTO
15:35-15:45 Food Chain-Lab: The role of science in
international food safety standards
Speaker: Dr Marion Gottschald, Senior
Scientific Officer, Federal Institute for Risk
Assessment, Germany
15:45-15:55 Regional perspective from Central Asia Speaker: Dr Nailya Karsybekova , National
Coordinator for Codex Alimentarius
Kazakhstan
15:55-16:05 National perspective from Qatar Speaker: Dr Wasan Al Baker, Food Safety &
Environment Health Manager at the Public
Health Department, Qatar
16:05-16:25 Q&A Session Moderator: Dr Moez Sanaa, WHO
16:25 -16:30 Closing remarks Dr Eleonora Dupouy, FAO
Dr Moez Sanaa, WHO