UK food regulator makes bid for international cooperation
share information internationally among industry and regulators in
a bid to prevent future outbreaks of disease.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said it is hosting the international workshop to tackle such threats and to improve industry and governments' ability to stop or respond to problems. Theworkshop will be held in London over two days beginning on 5 March 2007.
"Foreseeing new threats is important in tackling them effectively," the FSAstated in announcing the workshop
The workshop will examine ways to gather information and use sources of expertise in a way that matches advances in technology, business practices and international knowledge.
Participants will look at actual and potential food safety incidents. It will examine underlying causes, drawing on the experiences of food manufacturers and retailers. The consequences - in terms of product reputation and consumer trust - will also be analysed.
The FSA plans to focus on incident prevention, with reference to past events occurring in the UK,the rest of Europe, Canada, US, Australia and New Zealand.
On the final day, discussions will centre on intelligence gathering, group discussions and areas for future research. The programme includes a presentation from theFSA on the results of a project designed to look at information sources and apply them to a system for analysing threat.
The effectiveness of the system will be shown using examples drawn from the area of environmentalcontaminants, the FSA stated.
Those interested in attending should e-mail Kara Thomas at kara.thomas@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk by 8 December 2006.
