By: Andy Benson   Date: 5/26/10

Working for the International Food Information Council Foundation, you would expect that we might have more than a passing interest in the international food supply, and you would be right!

A sizeable proportion of the food we eat and the beverages we consume every day comes from outside our domestic borders.  While this gives us access to a tremendous variety of new tastes and culinary experiences, it doesn’t come without its challenges.  Not the least is ensuring that all the food we eat in this country, imported or local, fresh or frozen, meets the same standards for food safety.

And we are not alone!  Countries around the globe share the same concern. 

There’s an increasing amount of cooperation between US and international food safety and health authorities, including the World Health Organization the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and APEC to help ensure that the global food supply is as safe and sufficient as it needs to be.

What in the world is APEC?

APEC is the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation , the premier forum for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region.  Comprised of 21 countries, including the USA, that border the Pacific Ocean, the APEC region accounts for approximately 40 percent of the world's population and about 44 per cent of world trade. 

Sixty APEC specialists and expert advisors recently traveled to Washington D.C., from places as far away as China, Australia, Brazil and Maryland – (perceived as remote by many Northern Virginia residents) – to meet at the World Bank on May 19th and 20th to discuss how we can work together to increase levels of food safety.

Of the 21 member countries, no less than 19 of them were represented at the Washington meeting.  Among the participants were experts in risk analysis, quality standards, process control, testing systems, agricultural economics, risk management and risk communication.  U.S. and international government agencies were represented, as were food growers and food manufacturers and, of course, the International Food Information Council.

The next step for participants is the development and optimization of training modules and delivery methods to help maximize levels of food safety, locally, regionally and internationally.

International Food Safety at Home

While this will be a multi-year, ongoing process, there’s much that you as an individual can do now to make sure that you can safely enjoy a wide variety of foods and beverages from at home and abroad. 

Here are a few resources that may be helpful:
 “A Consumer’s Guide to Food Safety Risks”
 Fight BAC
 World Health Organization’s Five Keys to Safer Food” program.

Given the truly global context in which the World Health Organization operates, the “Five Keys to Safer Food” is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish and no less than fifty other languages.

So while APEC works on improving food safety from farm to processing facility and from manufacturer to consumer around the world, we can all do our part in helping to ensure that the food prepared in our homes is safe to eat, no matter where in the world we live.