FAO Encourages E-Notification Systems for Imported Food Safety, Releases Guidance
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is encouraging countries around the world to adopt e-notification systems to bolster food safety in light of increasingly complex and globalized food chains. To support nations in developing and implementing e-notification systems, FAO has published Technical Guidance for the Implementation of E-Notification Systems for Food Control(the “Technical Guidance”), which outlines the legal basis, the structure and operational parameters, and the infrastructure and human resources requirements of e-notification systems for food control.
The creation of the Technical Guidance was prompted by years of compounding FAO discussions regarding how food exporters can gain access to major markets through better understanding of and compliance with import controls, as well as best practices within a risk-based food import control system. After recognizing that each country is at a different stage in moving toward a risk-based imported food control system, FAO held a workshop that yielded recommendations for import e-notification systems, such as the EU’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Food Network (RASFF). Subsequently, FAO launched a project, titled, “Digital solutions in support of improved official control services,” of which the Technical Guidance is a result.