(RASFF) Annual Report 2009 - European Commission - Europa

Annual Report 2009
Mrs Monique Goyens, Director General of the
European Consumers’ Organisation (BEUC), was
there to give the consumers’ view on the RASFF. She
said that the EU is one of the safest places in the world
to eat and drink and that RASFF plays a very important
part in this and is trusted to deliver good work. She
pleaded for more information to flow back to the
consumer from the RASFF. She highlighted the use of
nanotechnology as an emerging food safety concern.
Dr Andrea Ellis of the World Health Organization’s
International network of food safety authorities
“INFOSAN” presented the conference with questions
over how global alert systems should be organised
in order to respond to the challenges faced at global
level. She said that cooperation between public
health and food safety authorities is pivotal to
managing hazards in food.
Afternoon discussion
panels
Three discussion panels were organised around the following themes:
• Stakeholder expectations of the RASFF
Mrs Beate Kettlitz of the Confederation of Food and Drink Industries (CIAA)
asked that food business operators should be given a role in the system as
they have key information regarding the food safety incidents reported.
She also made a case for more harmonisation between Member States in
the use of the system and increased global cooperation.
Mr. Robert Remy of the consumer organisation “Test-Achats” in Belgium
asked that consumers be given more information to allow them to identify
the products that are the subject of a RASFF notification.
• Global food safety and alert systems
Mr Sanchai Tontyaporn, team leader of the ARASFF (ASEAN RASFF) project,
explained the project that was run with the support of the European
Commission. With seven out of ten ASEAN countries participating, it has
a solid basis for growth, although compared to the RASFF, it is still in its
infancy. Implementation of the ARASFF should greatly contribute to the
improvement of overall food safety within the network member countries
and at the regional level as a whole. The next challenges for ARASFF are
further improvement of the ARASFF software, building stronger national
networks and getting the ARASFF endorsed by the ASEAN secretariat.
Dr Andrea Ellis of WHO – INFOSAN explained the need for collaboration
on food safety on a global scale. Countries have an obligation to report
important food safety events to INFOSAN under the International Health
Regulations (IHR).
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