Food safety and quality are essential for food security, public health and economic development. Yet although there is increased recognition of the importance of food safety and quality, food safety systems in many countries are unable to ensure an adequate supply of safe food for domestic consumers or to meet international sanitary and phytosanitary requirements for food exports. Food safety capacity building is advocated in response to these concerns.

As part of its activities to strengthen food safety capacity building in member countries, FAO will publish Guidelines for Assessing Food Safety Capacity Building Needs by the end of 2004. The guidelines focus on the role of government agencies within a comprehensive system for food safety and quality. They offer concepts, tools and examples to plan and carry out a capacity building needs assessment that is tailored to circumstances at the country level.

The guidelines include a series of modules to help officials assess capacity building needs in five core disciplines of food safety: i) food legislation; ii) food control management; iii) food inspection; iv) laboratories; and v) information, education and communication. The modules provide a systematic and participatory process to analyse and understand the major strengths and weaknesses of the existing food safety system, and identify the priorities to develop food safety capacity based on local realities, capabilities and conditions.

A presentation on the Guidelines for Assessing Food Safety Capacity Building Needs will take place at 14:00 hours on 13 October 2004 in the ESCAP Hall.