Scroll DownAdvancing the Enhancement of Food and Nutrition Safety through Collaborative Leadership Food regulators are called upon to act on a daily basis to address an increasing number of issues and respond to an ever-changing environment, aiming not only to meet the obligations of their mandate but also to act as the reference source of guidance to food business operators and consumers alike. The fast pace of change in consumer behavior, in food production practices, in technologies and in environmental conditions impacting food safety and quality add further expectations on food regulators around the world to act swiftly, to adapt to such changes and ensure their decisions and the current food regulatory measures continue to support consumer protection and are commensurate to risks being characterized, while not creating trade impediments. The food regulators undersigned gathered at the inaugural meeting of the Heads of Food Agencies Forum convened in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on 20 January 2020 acknowledge the importance of developing a sustainable environment of food regulatory cooperation to address emerging issues of food safety and nutrition, including the necessity to engage with each other: - To foster information sharing on current and future work priorities of food safety and nutrition agencies. - To establish a regular forum for information exchange and consultation between food regulators at the heads of agency level in order to enable such cooperation on a routine basis as part of dedicated meetings or leveraging opportunities of events attended by the food regulatory community. - To develop opportunities of resource-sharing to address common challenges of food safety and nutrition through a structured agenda of collaboration. To leverage each others efforts and capacities, and where relevant to work together towards consistent food assessment methodologies and convergent food regulatory measures, in accordance with the guidance offered by international organizations and in particular the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
The heads of agencies forum was founded by:
- Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA) – Saudi Arabia
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) - Australia
- Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) - Ireland
- China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA) - China
- The French agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES) - France
- Food Safety Commission of Japan (FSCJ) - Japan
- Public Authority for Food and Nutrition (PAFN) - Kuwait
- National Office of Food Safety (ONSSA) - Morocco
- Singapore Food Agency (SFA) – Singapore
- Food Standards Agency (FSA) – United Kingdom
- Danish Veterinary and Food Administration (DVFA) - Denmark
International Organizations:- Codex Alimentarius Commission (CODEX)
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
- World Health Organization - The International Food Safety Authorities Network (WHO- INFOSAN)
- A host country will volunteer to host the forums annual meeting and will offer to manage the secretariat enabling engagement between forum members, before and after the meeting throughout the year.
- The management of the forum and its secretariat will be rotating based on the volunteering host organization of the forum.
- The secretariat functions offered by one organization will span for a period covering the time between the meeting hosted by the same organization to the hosting of the following meeting, where the new host will take over those responsibilities at the end of the physical meetings.
- SFDA has been managing the forum secretariat since 2020.
Food safety and nutrition are key determinants of health and human development and regulatory decisions made by Governments and food authorities across the world can have far-reaching implications on the health of national and regional populations, agricultural production systems and the trade of agri-food products within an increasingly complex global food system. Emerging food safety issues, increasing consumers interests and concerns about the safety, nutritional quality and authenticity of the food they purchase, and information dissemination about the risks or the virtues of food products and diets have no boundaries. Food safety agencies involved in assessing, managing and communicating food risks, are required to address an increasing number of issues in order to, not only meet the increasing obligations of their legal and regulatory mandates, but to also act as the reference source for guidance to be provided to food business operators, consumers, as well as other intermediaries e.g. service providers, food traders, etc. The FAO / WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) provides an important forum for regulators and risk assessment bodies to meet and discuss the development of international standards. However, as the Commissions agendas focussed on standards development, there is limited opportunity to discuss and resolve issues of strategic importance which those involved in food risk analysis are faced with on a daily basis. These issues can only be resolved through working collaboratively. Therefore, this forum provides an opportunity for the heads of food safety agencies globally to come together voluntarily to shape a collaborative agenda with a view to exploring how these challenges can be resolved. Recognizing that collaboration between agencies and organizations supporting food safety and nutrition management (including food regulators and food risk assessment agencies) is a key mechanism and indeed an imperative to address an increasingly complex and interdependent health, food production and food trade environment, a group of food safety agencies agreed to convene a Heads of Food Agencies Forum (HFAF) to work collaboratively on issues of strategic importance and in line with their legal mandate.
Objectives
Terms of ReferenceThe IHFAF is an informal gathering of like-minded international food safety agencies at the heads of agency level, convened with the aim to facilitate engagement and dialogue targeting to advance:
Information sharing concerning current work priorities of food safety agencies food authorities and risk assessment agencies;
Shaping an agenda of collaborative initiatives to be developed in various forums, including in the context of international standard setting under the auspices of the CAC;
Exploring opportunities for working collaboratively to address common challenges, with the potential of sharing resources.
The heads of agencies forum was founded by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), Food Standards Australia New-Zealand (FSANZ), and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). The first meeting was hosted by the SFDA in Riyadh and representatives from different countries and organisations were invited to participate in the first meeting. Other members can join the forum by submitting a proposal to the executive committee for review and approval. Members of the forum express their commitment to such collaborative action by actively participating in the forum. The absence of a member from two (2) consecutive physical meetings will be considered as a forfeiture of the membership into the forum.
- Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA)
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ)
- Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI)
- China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA)
- The French agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES)
- Food Safety Commission of Japan (FSCJ)
- Public Authority for Food and Nutrition (PAFN)
- National Office of Food Safety ONSSA
- Singapore Food Agency SFA
- Codex Alimentarius Commission (CODEX)
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
- World Health Organization-International Food Safety Authorities Network (WHO-INFOSAN)
HFAFSecretariat@sfda.gov.sa
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