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Food safety implications from the use of environmental inhibitors in agrifood systems

Year of publication 2023

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 120 p.

Author FAO

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Book (series)

ISBN 978-92-5-138373-5

Series title Food Safety and Quality Series

Series number No. 24

To cite or share https://doi.org/10.4060/cc8647en

Synopsis (short abstract) The challenge of feeding a growing world population while responding to the climate crisis, requires development of practices and technologies to increase sustainability of agrifood systems and reduce harmful effects on the environment. Among those approaches, environmental inhibitors are used to improve the production efficiency of crops and livestock while reducing emissions of greenhouse gases such as methane or limiting the loss of nitrogen from cultivated fields and pastures. An inadvertent presence of environmental inhibitors in food commodities can raise health concerns as well as trade disruption if standards are not established. Challenges related to food safety risk assessment and management of these substances include the lack of internationally harmonized maximum residue limits (MRLs), agreed definition for environmental inhibitors and insufficient safety information for some compounds. This publication provides an overview of various synthetic and biological environmental inhibitors along with an analysis of possible food safety implications from their use. Regulatory frameworks relevant for environmental inhibitors in selected countries are presented as examples of current approaches being taken at national or regional level. Finally, food safety-related knowledge gaps are discussed together with some perspectives on how to move forward.

Cite this content as:

FAO. 2023. Food safety implications from the use of environmental inhibitors in agrifood systems. Food Safety and Quality Series, No. 24. Rome.




https://doi.org/10.4060/cc8647en

Language English

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