Emerging trends in agro-food practices have led to a phenomenal change in the classical domain of food safety. The existing laws are designed to address the adulteration of food and economic fraud. There is too much emphasis on generic standards and very little on issues of contaminants and additives. Most food laws are now being strictly reviewed to accommodate the essential features of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime. 

Old school

The current food regulations in South Asia were developed four to five decades ago. They are based on inspection of the end product and laboratory analysis which are simply unable to cope with the latest WTO requirements. However, all member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) except Nepal have modernised and harmonised their national food legislations with Codex Alimentarius (Food Code) guidelines. A proactive or preventive aspect of food safety management is neither covered by the regulatory mechanism nor practiced by manufacturers and agribusiness enterprises. Such aspects of preventive mechanism and quality assurance measures are indispensable for the sustenance and survival of agro-food trade in the international market. Therefore, an SPS Agreement compatible regulatory framework plus massive education and awareness programmes for all the stakeholders in production, processing and marketing operations is needed. 

The Codex Alimentarius Commission is a joint intergovernmental body of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO). It is responsible for developing standards, guidelines and recommendations for food products. The developing countries have to strengthen capacity in terms of assessing quality and safety problems of their products and generate scientific data to present to the respective Codex committees. Though building a team consisting of members from various sectors such as academia, regulatory bodies and other public-private institutions is not an easy task, it is an essential component to address pressing needs of the day. A science-based approach is the baseline to pursue initiatives in the development of standards, guidelines and recommendations regarding foods, and the scientific committee in the food regulatory mechanism lies at the centre of food safety matters. Codex standards, guidelines and recommendations are the benchmark for settling disputes in international food trade, and our attention should be targeted at strengthening the national capacity to adopt these standards.

Responsibility lies with producers

It is a common perception among consumers that it is the efficiency of the regulatory mechanism which can ensure the safety of food supplies. However, there are various other stakeholders such as producers and farmers who have a greater responsibility in assuring the safety of food products. Likewise, consumer education and awareness packages should prioritise microbial risk as the greatest potential food risk compared to other risk factors. Exaggerated claims and false advertisements on food packaging labels are another menace. Claims such as ‘highly nutritious’, ‘high protein’ and ‘cholesterol free’ are tall claims which require scientific evidence as per Codex guidelines. Consumers should be alerted to boycott such products, and such violations should be strictly dealt with by regulatory bodies.

Farmers or producers of agro-food products should follow good agricultural practices (GAP). Misuse or abuse of chemicals increases residue problems in food products. Therefore, a surveillance system to ensure GAP has become more important than before. Proper documentation of farms and agricultural practices helps to establish a basic groundwork for the traceability of food sources. 

Agro-food products from farms should bear labelling indicating the address, location and packing date. Implementing food quality assurance activity requires the adoption of GAP and good veterinary practices (GVP). They are vital to ensure the safety of food products and promote trade without the risk of shipments being rejected.

GVP requires that only healthy animals be slaughtered, and that all precautions be taken to ensure that unsafe levels of veterinary drug residues do not remain in edible tissues and pose a threat to the health of consumers. 

The quality and safety of food can be ensured by applying good manufacturing practices (GMP) and good hygienic practices (GHP). GMP states that food materials and ingredients including approved levels of additives should be used to prevent and control contamination. The basic element of GHP is employing adequate cleaning and sanitising measures at all stages of processing, and using time and temperature control to inhibit microbial growth in processed foods.

Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures ensure the right of WTO members to take action to protect human, animal or plant life. However, SPS measures should not be trade restrictive and not used as a non-tariff barrier. Countries are free to develop and implement standards that are based on sound scientific evidence and are designed to protect human, animal or plant life. SPS measures accommodate food safety issues such as food contaminants and microbial hazards.

The Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) has been implemented to safeguard fair trading practices by removing any unjustifiable technical barriers. The TBT Agreement embodies all types of standards including food quality, nutritional requirements, labelling and methods of analysis. This is primarily intended to curb commercial fraud and deception. SPS and TBT are distinctly different activities. The two terms are not synonymous and need to be clarified. SPS deals with safety and health risk measures while TBT deals with technical and labelling requirements for food products. SPS measures are major factors influencing the ability of the developing countries to explore export opportunities for agricultural and food products in developed countries. However, the incompatibility between SPS requirements and production and marketing methods seen in the developing countries is also a major limiting factor affecting access to world markets.

Recent developments in food safety management have prompted many countries, including Nepal, to build a consolidated food standard and safety authority. A holistic approach to food safety management is the ultimate destination for capacity building to address food safety issues. Traditionally, food safety meant examining the end product and inspecting food processing and catering establishments. In recent decades, a multi-disciplinary approach has been emphasised in the entire food chain. Many food safety problems originate in primary production. In order to address the above issues, an integrated food safety management system has been considered as the stepping up process in food safety improvement efforts.

Karki is a Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, School of Science, Kathmandu University