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| GF 02/1NF 12 | |
Second FAO/WHO Global Forum of Food Safety Regulators
Geneva, 28 June 2004
1. Opening of the meeting
2. Preparation of the Forum documents
3. Practical arrangements
4. Budget and contributions
5. Side events
6. Other matters
Mrs Kerstin Leitner, Assistant Director-General, Sustainable Development and Healthy Environments, WHO, welcomed the delegates (see List of Participants in Annex) on behalf of WHO and FAO. She emphasized that the meeting was an informal consultation and the participants should feel free to speak and make proposals on all aspects of the GF-2 preparation.
Mr Hartwig de Haen, Assistant Director-General, Economic and Social Department, FAO, reminded the participants that the organization of the Second Global Forum of Food Safety Regulators (GF-2) was in response to a unanimous recommendation by participants in GF-1, and presented the provisional Agenda. He recalled that the Global Fora of Food Safety Regulators were not overlapping with, but clearly complementary to the work of Codex Alimentarius. While the Global Fora promote information exchange on issues related to food safety risk management, they do not involve any negotiation and standard setting, which is the realm of Codex. It is hoped that these Global Fora would make the implementation of food safety standards at country level more effective.
2. Preparation of the Forum documents
The Forum Secretariat indicated the list of the working documents that are expected and the countries and agencies that have been entrusted to prepare them on a voluntary basis. It provided an update of the progress made in the preparation of the papers as presented in the working document. It further informed that Ireland had submitted a draft Topic paper1.2 on Defining the responsibilities and tasks of different stakeholders within the framework of a national strategy, and that India had submitted the final version of Topic paper 1.5 on Export control and certification. The USA and Argentina (INPPAZ) were preparing a joint document on International cooperation on food contamination monitoring and food borne disease surveillance.
The delegate of Canada confirmed that the key-note address would be sent to the Secretariat sufficiently in advance for translation.
Mrs Leitner suggested that countries which have interesting experiences to share with others in food safety management such as Norway in the rearrangement of its food safety system and Finland on international cooperation in food borne disease surveillance, should be requested to present papers at GF-2. Mr de Haen while supporting the proposal indicated that such papers could be submitted as Conference Room Documents (CRDs) which all countries are encouraged to present. They can also be presented at the relevant workshop. There was general agreement that the widest range of countries possible should contribute papers and be invited to chair/moderate sessions and workshops.
WHO confirmed their plan to prepare and present a paper on INFOSAN (International Food Safety Regulators Network) which was launched at the World Health Assembly in May 2004. The paper will be presented as a side event on the day preceeding GF-2. While the new FAO Portal on Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health provide information on official national and international regulations and standards related to these disciplines, INFOSAN will enable food safety authorities to interact and share information, in particular in cases of emergency. The USA informed that it will present its experience in this field at the Forum under the related Topic paper. The European Community referred to its Rapid Alert System currently in place in 27 European countries and expressed readiness to facilitate the development of any regional or international networks in the field of food safety.
The delegation of Canada also proposed that a short paper outlining the complementary mandates of the Global Forum, Codex, SPS etc. be prepared.
The delegate of Thailand announced that GF-2 would be held at UNESCAP in Bangkok. The Thai Government would be responsible for the conference rooms and facilities, the reproduction of documents, coffee breaks, lunches and an official reception on Tuesday 12 October 2004, evening. He expressed his Government’s readiness to make all necessary arrangements to ensure the success of the meeting. He referred the participants to the GF-2 website which contains information on meeting venue, accommodation and other practical aspects of the meeting. Mr de Haen expressed his gratitude to the Thai authorities on behalf of FAO, WHO and all G-8 countries.
a) Timetable
The Secretariat presented the Provisional Timetable, which included discussions of the working papers in plenary sessions during the first two days, followed by two parallel workshops on the third day.
The Secretariat will work with the Chairs of the Workshops to organize the discussion on the basis of some selected CRDs from countries of different regions. Summaries of the Workshops will be included in the Forum proceedings. The Canadian delegate suggested using the good exchange of views and ideas on capacity building and technical assistance that participants had had at GF-1, as a platform to start the discussion.
b) Chairs and vice-chairs
In response to a proposal by the Secretariat regarding the chairmanship of a Thai official to chair GF-2, the Thai delegate expressed his Government’s agreement to assume this responsibility. Vice-chairs could be selected at the Forum.
The Secretariat presented the revised budget, which amounted to US$595,000. Its main components concern the participation of delegates from Least Developed Countries, the translation of documents and interpretation costs.
Concerning those G-8 countries that have not yet announced a contribution, the Secretariat indicated that Italy had confirmed their intention to contribute and that the amount of such contribution would be determined within the next two weeks. The USA delegate informed that his country’s contribution was still under consideration and that it could include in-kind contribution in the form of the translation into the other 5 languages of the two topic papers under preparation by the USA. The delegate from Japan indicated that he would encourage the relevant authorities in his government to consider contributing to the GF-2 budget. The Secretariat explained that support to GF-2 could take the form of in-kind contributions through direct funding of the participation (travel and DSA) of representatives from developing countries of their choice.
The delegates from Germany and from the European Community confirmed their initially announced pledges.
Concerning the funding of subsequent Global Fora, the meeting agreed that the collective responsibility of the G-8 countries was the launching of the GF process since the idea originated at the Okinawa G-8 Summit. The G-8 countries had a responsibility to ensure that the first two Fora had full agendas, were adequately funded and successfully implemented. The funding of future Global Fora must involve the contribution of other donors to make this effort sustainable.
In case of insufficient funding for GF-2, the meeting could not suggest any specific budget item that could be reduced. Also, the meeting was not in favour of any reduction in the budget line covering the participation of representatives from the Least Developed Countries. On the other hand, the meeting agreed that any surplus funding should be devoted to increasing the participation of representatives from developing countries.
The Secretariat briefly listed the side events that were planned on the day immediately before and after GF-2.
The Thai representative indicated that they intended to organize a poster presentation on food control in Thailand just outside the Conference room. They will inform the Secretariat of the possibility for the display of posters from other countries.
The representative from the United Kingdom recalled that it was important to organize in advance of GF-2 how to obtain feed back from participants on benefits, strengths and weaknesses. This should also indicate how countries had applied, in their own systems, what they had learned at the Forum.
