IAEA regional meeting on food safety ends

The five-day regional meeting on food safety under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) technical cooperation (TC) programme came to an end here. The meeting had commenced on 16th October and was inaugurated by Deputy Director General IAEA H.E. Hua Liu. The meeting organized in Faisalabad, was hosted by Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB), one of the four topnotch agriculture research centres of the country being run by Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). In her concluding remarks IAEA217;s Programme Management Officer, Ms. Lin Yang said the IAEA regional technical cooperation project support on food safety started its journey from 2016 with over 20 participating countries. Over 300 professionals have been trained through regional training courses, fellowships, scientific visits and IAEA-sponsored participation in relevant international events. She further said that food security could not be achieved without ensuring food safety. “IAEA will continue to extend its support to the Member States to enhance technical analysis capacity and multi-stakeholder engagement in order to develop a sound food safety monitoring and control system for all.” Technical Officer of IAEA, Dr. James Sasanya in his remarks said, “Nuclear science and related technologies play an important role in improving food safety control systems in Member States and the Asia-Pacific region has embraced the support provided by the IAEA in cooperation with FAO in this regard. Since food safety is a joint responsibility, it is important to build collaboration among relevant stakeholders in the countries and the region and this meeting is part of the initiatives ” Director NIAB, Dr. Muhammad Yussouf Saleem, in his address as the chief guest of the closing ceremony said.” It is indeed a matter of great honour for NIAB to host and organize this prestigious regional meeting which is a source of sharing knowledge, experiences and scientific information “. He briefed the participants in detail about the efforts of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and its four agricultural research institutes to achieve sustainable development goals through the use of nuclear technologies. He thanked the International Atomic Energy Agency for choosing Pakistan as a venue for this meeting. Head Animal Sciences Division NIAB, Dr. Uzma Maqbool, who was also the coordinator of the regional meeting, presented the vote of thanks. Participating countries of this regional meeting included Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Jordan, LAO PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinae, Phillippines, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vanatua. It is pertinent to mention here that the international participants appreciated NIAB and PAEC for the successful conduct of the meeting as they said it was successful in achieving the expected goals of working for stronger regional collaboration, enhancing coordination, identifying priorities and initiating joint actions for achieving robust and effective food safety control system in the region. Asia and the Pacific Region is home to 60% of the world’s population and is a major global food supplier. Therefore, strengthening the food control system is fundamental not only for countries in the region but also for international health and trade. The globalization of food trade, a growing world population, climate change, ecosystem degradation and rapidly changing food systems all have an impact on the quality and safety of food. Interventions to ensure a safe food supply require joint efforts among relevant stakeholders and especially support of decision makers, regulators, and heads of institutions. Support of these stakeholders enhances hazard testing and surveillance by laboratories and the setting as well as implementation of standards and guidelines. Under the ongoing IAEA technical cooperation programme, IAEA is supporting Member States to make a significant contribution to improvement of their food safety control systems using nuclear and related technology. The overall objective is to improve food safety control systems that better safeguard consumers from harmful contaminants, residues, and associated hazards, and enhance competitiveness of agricultural exports through a multi-stakeholder approach. It is imperative that decision makers are involved region-wide hence this stakeholder’s meeting was held by the agency.