GEMS/Food Instructions for Electronic Submission of Data on ...

1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 <strong>GEMS</strong>/<strong>Food</strong> Programme
Since 1976, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been responsible <strong>for</strong> implementing the
Global Environment Monitoring System / <strong>Food</strong> Contamination Monitoring and Assessment
Programme (<strong>GEMS</strong>/<strong>Food</strong>) to assess the levels and trends <strong>of</strong> potentially hazardous chemicals in
food. The main objectives <strong>of</strong> <strong>GEMS</strong>/<strong>Food</strong> are to:
• Collect data on levels <strong>of</strong> certain priority chemicals in foods and to evaluate these data,
review trends and produce summaries, thus encouraging appropriate food control and
resource management resources;
• Obtain estimates <strong>of</strong> the intake via food <strong>of</strong> these chemicals, with a view to combining
dietary intake data with data on exposure from non-dietary sources to estimate total
exposure to the chemicals;
• Provide technical cooperation with the governments <strong>of</strong> countries wishing to initiate and
strengthen food contaminant monitoring programmes; and
• Provide the joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission with in<strong>for</strong>mation on the
level <strong>of</strong> contaminants in food to support and accelerate its work on international standards
<strong>for</strong> contaminants in foods.
<strong>GEMS</strong>/<strong>Food</strong> has issued guidelines and other advice (WHO, 1979;WHO, 1983; WHO, 1997)
to assist its contributing institutions and national public health authorities in initiating studies
on the dietary intake <strong>of</strong> priority chemicals. These guidelines aim to:
• Aid countries with varying resources to assess the risk <strong>of</strong> possible exposure to chemical
contaminants in the food supply and to aid countries in reviewing and amending current
regulatory practices;
• Utilize existing monitoring data effectively in the prediction <strong>of</strong> potential exposure to toxic
substances in foods;
• Identify the criteria that may be used to decide which dietary intake assessment studies are
appropriate;
• Provide methods <strong>for</strong> predicting intakes in the absence <strong>of</strong> extensive data;
• Assist in determining whether regulation <strong>of</strong> the use <strong>of</strong> certain chemicals is necessary and in
facilitating the process <strong>of</strong> setting or accepting tolerance and residue limits;
• Enable more objective assessments to be made <strong>of</strong> the effects the ingestion <strong>of</strong> such toxic
substances may have in man, by combining dietary intake studies with a study <strong>of</strong> the indices
<strong>of</strong> clinical health in individuals and other appropriate epidemiological in<strong>for</strong>mation; and
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