Strategic approaches to addressing food safety

Words by Deon Mahoney

It has long been recognised that illness associated with contaminated food is a widespread health problem across the world and a significant cause of reduced economic productivity. It also significantly impacts consumer confidence in the food supply.

Regrettably, national plans and strategies seeking to manage food safety have a tendency to be ad hoc, prepared largely in response to an emergent crisis or a critical incident impacting public health.

In 2000, the Fifty-third World Health Assembly (WHA) formally acknowledged that foodborne illnesses associated with microbial pathogens, biotoxins, and chemical contaminants in food represented a serious threat to the health of millions of people.

The WHA resolution on food safety (WHA53.15) was the first in the 50-year history of the World Health Organisation (WHO), and it urged member states to integrate food safety as one of their essential public health and nutrition functions, and to deliver sufficient resources to establish and strengthen their food safety programs.

The Assembly also directed the WHO to give greater emphasis to food safety, and to work towards integrating food safety as one of WHO’s essential public health functions. The goal being the development of sustainable, integrated food-safety systems for the reduction of health risk along the entire food chain, from the primary producer to the consumer.

WHO subsequently launched the WHO Global Strategy for Food Safety: Safer food for better health in 20021 with the goal of reducing the health and social burden of foodborne illness. Under the strategy, the prevention of foodborne disease and the response to food safety challenges required holistic, risk-based and timely national food safety policies and strategies. Unfortunately the strategy was not adequately underpinned by a comprehensive global action plan focussed on supporting developing economies to build and strengthen their systems.

Global strategy 2022-2030

Twenty years later, in 2020, the Seventy-third WHA again visited food safety and agreed to a resolution titled Strengthening efforts on food safety. The resolution recognised the uncompleted challenge of managing food safety and requested WHO to update the WHO Global Strategy for Food Safety. This included a call to address current and emerging food safety challenges, incorporate new food control and monitoring technologies, and explore innovative approaches for strengthening food safety systems. The WHA reflected on how food safety risks have increased due to the increasing volume and diversity of foods traded globally.

Strategic priority Description

Table 1 – Priorities of the WHO Global Strategy for Food Safety 2022-2030.

1. Strengthening national food control systems

2. Identifying and responding to food safety challenges resulting from global changes and food systems transformation

3. Improving the use of food chain information, scientific evidence and risk assessment in making risk management decisions

4. Strengthening stakeholder engagement and risk communication

5. Promoting food safety as an essential component in domestic, regional and international food trade

In 2021, the WHO Secretariat published a draft WHO Global Strategy for Food Safety 20222030. 2 In preparing the strategy, feedback was sought from member states, governmental institutions, other United Nations agencies, intergovernmental organisations, academic establishments, nongovernmental organisations, private sector bodies and individuals working in food safety and public health. It did this through a far-reaching consultation process.

In May 2022, delegates at the WHA adopted the updated WHO Global Strategy. The vision of the strategy is that all people should have access to safe and suitable food, and centres on five interlinked strategic priorities for food safety.

The strategy seeks to inspire WHO member states to intensify and accelerate action on food safety and to guide them as they pursue improvements designed to strengthen their food safety systems. At the member state level, the audience for the strategy includes policymakers, authorities responsible for oversight of food safety, food businesses and the private sector, academics and consumers. It incorporates four key principles: forward-looking, evidence based, people-centred and cost effective.

The strategy’s vision is that all people, everywhere, consume safe and healthy food so as to reduce the burden of foodborne illness. Under the strategy WHO will advocate for stronger investment in food safety; synthesise evidence and coordinate scientific advice and research related to food safety; provide and regularly update diagnostic tools and practical guidance; and build partnerships and foster global collaboration to assist countries in implementing the strategy. It will also foster enhanced international cooperation between countries and promote participation in international food safety initiatives and networks.

National food safety strategies

During the past 20 years, various countries have tackled the development of national food safety strategies, policies and plans. Some of these activities are described below. United States – Food safety regulation and control in the United States involves two main federal agencies, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The authority of the FDA is enshrined in the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act 1938, while the Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Inspection Act, and the Egg Inspection Act establish the authority of FSIS.

In 2011, the Food Modernisation Safety Act was introduced, but it mainly impacts the activities of the FDA. A range of other, separate agencies also have food safety responsibilities, plus each state has its own food regulations and agencies.

In 2010, the US Department of Health and Human Services launched Healthy People 2020, with a series of goals and objectives for health promotion and disease prevention across 42 distinct topic areas. It identified the most significant preventable threats to health and established national goals to reduce these threats.

The goal of the food safety topic areas was to reduce foodborne illnesses in the United States by improving food safety-related behaviours and practices. It involved 33 measurable food safety objectives covering topics such as a targeted reduction in illness across seven foodborne pathogens, addressing antimicrobial resistance, reducing severe allergic reactions to food, and improved safe food-handling behaviours.

Unfortunately, the Healthy People 2020 targets for reducing foodborne illness were not met, and a revised Healthy People 2030 program was unveiled in 2018. Of the seven original objectives tracking foodborne illness caused by pathogens commonly transmitted through food, one objective improved, one objective worsened, and five objectives demonstrated little or no detectable change.3 Overall, only eleven food safety objectives (33%) met or exceeded the 2020 target. New Zealand – In 2019, New Zealand Food Safety (Ministry for Primary Industries) launched A Strategy for New Zealand Food Safety 20192024. 4 The vision was for New Zealand to retain its world-class food safety system and for its food to be trusted and recognised by everyone, everywhere. The focus is on the safety and suitability of domestically produced and imported food, whilst maintaining the trust and confidence of trading partners along export supply chains.

The strategy involves five priorities: a robust food safety system; supporting consumers to make informed food choices; active contribution to international forums; partnerships with Māori; and innovative and forward-looking approaches to meet new challenges. The strategy is supported by an action plan that sets out specific targets and timelines.

The New Zealand food industry contributes strongly to economic and social outcomes. By striving to ensure food is safe and suitable and supporting consumers to make informed choices, food businesses can thrive and innovate while importers can have confidence and trust in exported food. United Kingdom – The goal of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is to protect public health and consumers. In early 2022, FSA released their latest strategy Food you can trust | FSA Strategy 2022–2027. 5 The strategy sets out how this independent, non-ministerial government department utilises science and evidence to inform ways to protect public health and reduce the burden of foodborne illness, while concomitantly supporting food businesses to meet their obligations. It is based around their commitment to transparency, proportionality and innovation, and the aspiration to support food businesses to meet food regulations and do the right thing to protect public health.

The strategy arose following a comprehensive independent review of the food system and the publication of the National Food Strategy. 6 FSA has developed its work plan for the first year and will set work plans for subsequent years through their corporate planning process. Performance metrics and targets will be reported through FSA’s performance reporting system and will be published on a regular basis. Australia – In 2018, the then Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation endorsed Australia’s Foodborne Illness Reduction Strategy 2018–2021+ which identified three priority areas to further strengthen the food regulation system.7 These included reducing foodborne illness, supporting the public health objectives to reduce chronic disease related to overweight and obesity, and maintaining a strong, robust and agile food regulation system. The development of the strategy followed foodborne illness reduction strategies endorsed in New South Wales (2014) and Victoria (2017).

Specifics around reducing foodborne illness focussed on reducing the incidence of illness due to Campylobacter and Salmonella, with action in the areas of enhancing food safety culture, sector-based initiatives (horticulture, poultry, eggs and food service), consumer and industry information, research, monitoring and surveillance, and national engagement. While a plan to reform the operations of the food regulation system and ensure its jurisdictional consistency is also being progressed.

Summary

The means by which we produce, process, distribute, market and consume food are continually evolving, creating challenges for societies which demand safer, healthier and ever more sustainable food. Unfortunately, there is limited evidence that food is safer or that the burden of illness attributed to food is on the decline. In fact, food safety has not always been a public health priority, with few strategies and policies focussing on improving food safety. Plus, where strategies are in place, they have enjoyed only limited success and objective measures of performance have been lacking.

Moving forward it is important that comprehensive food safety strategies covering the entire food supply chain are drafted. They must both address contemporary issues and look to the horizon for emerging issues.

A vital component of such strategies is identifying probable outcomes and setting, articulating and achieving appropriate objectives such as quantitative targets. This requires measurement of the current burden of illness and negotiating an appropriate level of protection to establish a quantitative reduction target. Such strategies then need to be backed by well-constructed action plans with adequate resourcing and realistic timelines and milestones.

Once in place, food safety strategies need to be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure they are being properly implemented and are achieving their goals – advancing food safety is an unending process.

References

1. WHO Food Safety Programme (2002). WHO global strategy for food safety: safer food for better health. World Health Organization. https:// apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/42559

2. World Health Organization (20218). Draft WHO Global Strategy for Food Safety 2022-2030. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/ publications/m/item/draft-who-global-strategyfor-food-safety-2022-2030

3. CDC (2017). Healthy People 2020 Mid course Review – Chapter 14: Food Safety. Centres for Disease Prevention and Control. https://www. cdc.gov/nchs/data/hpdata2020/HP2020MCR- C14-FS.pdf

4. New Zealand Food Safety (2019). A Strategy for New Zealand Food Safety 2019-2024. Ministry for Primary Industries. https://www.mpi.govt.nz/ dmsdocument/38951-New-Zealand-Food-Safety- Strategy

5. Food Standards Agency (2022). Food you can trust | FSA Strategy 2022–2027. Food Standards Agency. https://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/ files/media/document/Delivering%20a%20 better%20food%20system%20-%20FSA%20 strategy%202022%E2%80%932027.pdf

6. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2021). National Food Strategy: The Plan. United Kingdom Government. https://assets. publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/ system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1025825/ national-food-strategy-the-plan.pdf

7. Department of Health (2018). Australia’s Foodborne Illness Reduction Strategy 2018–2021+. https://foodregulation.gov.au/internet/ fr/publishing.nsf/Content/51D7B1FFFCAD05C5 CA2582B900051DDD/$File/FORUM-AUS-FBI- RS-2018.pdf

Deon Mahoney is Head of Food Safety at the International Fresh Produce Association.