Preventing animal disease and plant pest outbreaks and food safety incidents before they occur is essential to protecting the food chain. Most food chain crises are preventable with timely actions and the right investments. The Food Chain Crisis - Emergency Prevention System, known as FCC-EMPRES, is FAO’s approach to pursuing just that.

This publication, based on 23 FCC-EMPRES information sheets published on a monthly basis by the FCC Intelligence and Coordination Unit of the FAO Agricu lture and Consumer Protection Department, showcases some of the best practices currently in use. This publication promises to help experts, policy makers, national institutions, and development workers in our joint pursuit of a world without hunger. “Averting risks to the food chain” demonstrates that a coordinated response of everyone involved in producing, processing, marketing and consuming food is essential. The 23 FCC-EMPRES practices illustrated here show how better coordination makes a di fference in people’s lives and livelihoods. The multidisciplinary, collaborative and integrated approach encouraged by FCC-EMPRES ensures that information about threats to our food arrives to all people concerned from farm to table before the threats can spread and cross borders.