APEC FSCF PTIN
Food Safety Cooperation Forum Partnership Training Institute Network
Concerns about food safety in the Asia Pacific region have risen sharply, and spurred a high level, collective mandate from APEC Leaders to improve food safety standards and practices. In 2007, after the establishment of the APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum (FSCF), APEC Leaders agreed on the need to develop a more robust approach to strengthening food safety standards and practices in the region, using scientific risk based approaches and without creating unnecessary impediments to trade. To this end, they called for increased capacity building to improve technical competence and understanding of food safety management among stakeholders in the supply chain, which include regulators, growers, packers, handlers, storage providers, processors, manufacturers, retailers and food service providers.
The Food Safety Cooperation Forum's Partnership Training Institute Network (FSCF PTIN) was created specifically to address the need to engage the food industry and academic food safety experts with the regulators, to strengthen capacity building in food safety.
HIGHLIGHTED EVENTS
The recent suite of APEC FSCF and PTIN events were held from April 10-13 in Surabaya Indonesia. These included an SME workshop on food safety best practices, a meeting of the Partnership Training Institute Network Steering Group, a Workshop on Incident Management, and a meeting of the Food Safety Cooperation Forum. See the following Surabaya Statement with outcomes from the meeting
Upcoming Events
APEC PTIN Regional Workshop on Laboratory Capacity Building in Food Safety: Framework for Self-Assessment of Laboratory Capacity Building Needs and Prioritization
Date: December 12-13, 2013
Location: College Park, MD (USA) near Washington, DC
The objective of this year’s activities is to develop a process of prioritization of laboratory building needs, which will involve a countrywide or local self-assessment and will be applicable across the region. This tool is meant to be used to obtain more details after the administration of a survey such as proposed by FAO in "Strengthening national food control systems: Guidelines to assess capacity building needs". Two economies, Chile and China, have participated in pilot projects; the regional workshop will aim to share the information gained from these pilot projects and refine the prioritization process with input from all participating economies.
Download Regional Workshop information in pdf.
Who should attend?
Each APEC country is solicited to nominate at least 2 participants for this regional workshop. It is recommended that the participants be laboratory analysts with sufficient analytical experience to contribute to round table discussions about the prioritization of laboratory capacity building needs. The participants should also be comfortable discussing laboratory methods in chemistry and/or microbiology.
Further information at: http://ifstl.jifsan.umd.edu/events/view/81
Registration link: http://ifstl.jifsan.umd.edu/registration/94
Optional Technical Assistance Activity: Dec. 4-11, 2013
The University of Maryland’s Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN) is the implementing organization for this year’s regional workshop. The International Food Safety Training Laboratory at JIFSAN is pleased to offer an opportunity to augment the impact of your travel by attending hands-on laboratory-training workshop on the detection and quantification of aflatoxins and other mycotoxins in food. A special schedule and reduced registration rate are offered to participants of the APEC FSCF PTIN workshop. Space is limited to 18 participants and will be reserved upon registration and payment. Further information is available the attached invitation.
Train the Trainer Program on Aquaculture
Date: November TBD
Location: Malaysia
Michigan State University (MSU), in partnership with the Global Food Safety Partnership and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, Food Safety Cooperation Forum Partnership Training Institute Network (APEC/FSCF/PTIN) developed a training program on aquaculture best practices based on a PTIN workshop held in November 2011. This training program features blended learning techniques and includes a one-month eLearning phase, similar to the GFSP HACCP training modules released last June. The first instance of this training is expected took place in June in Indonesia with participants doing a one month elearning phase followed by several days of hands on face to face training. After the pilot training, the aquaculture program was refined and will now be offered as a train the trainer course to take place in Malaysia TBD.
FSCF Roadmaps for Regulatory Cooperation in Export Certificates and Pesticide Maximum Residue Limits Draft Roadmaps Endorsed in September 2013
Date: TBD
Location: TBD
In Surabaya in April 2013, the FSCF endorsed moving forward with a Regulatory Cooperation Plan to develop roadmaps to identify ways to move forward with regulatory cooperation in two areas: Export Certificates and Pesticide Maximum Residue Limits. Working groups were formed to identify draft roadmaps for FSCF endorsement. The export certificate work will be led by Australia and the United States with working group members from Peru, Thailand, Mexico, Brunei, Canada, Papua New Guinea, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, and the Wine Regulators Forum. The pesticide MRL work will be led by Australia and China with working group members from United States, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, and the Wine Regulators Forum. The FSCF endorsed the following roadmaps in September to guide future work:
Global Food Safety Partnership Second Annual Conference
Date: December 9-13, 2013
Location: Singapore
The World Bank will hold the second annual conference of the Global Food Safety Partnership (GFSP) conference in Singapore from December 9-13. Building off of the APEC FSCF and PTIN public private partnership capacity building model, the Word Bank Group administered Global Food Safety Partnership seeks to create a multi-stakeholder platform that can address food safety capacity building The establishment of the GFSP was the result of considerable action over the last ecade, including the good work initiated under the APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum. In early 2012, Waters Corporation, Mars Incorporated, and USAID became the founding contributors in this unique food safety capacity building partnership. Since then, several national governments, private sector, academic and non-government organizations have demonstrated strong support for the GFSP and have become partners to the GFSP through financial or in-kind contributions. The Netherlands provided a crucial initial contribution that enabled activation of a new GFSP multi-donor trust fund managed by the World Bank. Recently, additional financial contributions have been provided by the governments of Canada, Denmark, and the United States to support GFSP implementation. Seed funding for the GFSP has also been provided from within the World Bank.
The purpose of the 2nd Annual Conference is to take stock of the first year of activity, overview plans for the coming year, and exchange views on priorities for the Partnership. The goal fo the GFSP is to work together on a more efficient model of capacity building for a better food safety global network.
For more information please see: www.gfsp.org
Proficiency Testing of Veterinary Drug Residues in Food
Date: May 2014
Location: China
China is leading work on Proficiency Testing of Veterinary Drug Residues in Food. The focus is on inter-laboratory proficiency testing (PT) program to determine veterinary drug multi-residues in animal origin products, which is important to develop laboratory capabilities within APEC economies, to improve the acceptability of test results that is able to provide solid evidence to facilitate animal origin products trade among these economies. Work is being conducted in four stages over a nine month period that will consist of in-laboratory activities combined with two face-to-face events.
Workshop on Improved Food Inspection Capacity Building Based on Risk Analysis
Date: May 22-24, 2014
Location: Seoul, Korea
This project led by Korea continues work on educating APEC economies about the use of risk-based inspection against potential risks to consumers’ health. This will improve food safety management of traded food and minimize food safety incidents. This work exemplifies the further rollout of the FSCF PTIN’s core food safety elements modules to economies in the region. Economy training needs to target a broad range of involved actors which include food inspectors, public officers in charge of food safety, staff members at food sanitation inspection organizations and other relevant officers, and must be repeated in programs throughout the region. Korea will host this workshop in Seoul, Korea May 23-34, 2014. Plans call for the GFSP HACCP training to be piloted in Korea in connection with this workshop.
Food Safety Cooperation Forum and PTIN Steering Group meeting
Date: 2015
Location: Philippines
The next meeting of the Food Safety Cooperation Forum and Partnership Training Institute Network Steering Group will be held in 2015 in the Philippines.
Recent Events
APEC Multi-Year Project Approved
With the APEC region accounting for 41% of world population and nearly 50% of global food production, steps are being made to ensure that food safety capacity building is a priority. The APEC Budget Management Committee has approved a multi-year project proposal that will implement food safety projects under the APEC FSCF and PTIN starting in 2013 and ending in 2015. This multi-year project will include workshops, forums, and informational toolkits that will enhance food safety capacity measures.
The timeline for the multi-year project is as follows:
- Mid-April 2013, Indonesia- Food Safety Cooperation Forum, Food Safety Incident Network Seminar, PTIN Steering Group meeting, and risk analysis discussion
- May/June 2013 Indonesia- Best Practices in Educating Food Safety Standards to SMEs
- TBD 2013- Laboratory capacity building activity/workshop
- May 2014 Korea- Workshop on Improved Food Inspection Capacity Building Based on Risk Analysis
- 2014 China- Proficiency Testing of Veterinary Drug Residues in Food
- 2015 Philippines Food Safety Cooperation Forum and PTIN Steering Group meeting
Global Food Safety Partnership Service Providers Day
Date: April 22, 2013
Recognizing that a number of consulting companies, NGOs, academic and technical institutions and others would be interested in contributing their expertise and providing services through the GFSP, the GFSP Secretariat is organizing a "Service Providers' Information Day" at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, DC, on Monday, 22 April 2013. This event will provide details about GFSP objectives, structure, participants and operational aspects, including the associated legal, procurement, and financial management issues. There will be webstreaming for those unable to participate in person.
Please do not hesitate to contact the GFSP Secretariat with questions or to be added to the attendee list for the event: gfsp@worldbank.org
Suite of APEC FSCF and PTIN Events
Date: April 10-13, 2013
Location: Surabaya, Indonesia
From April 10-13, there will be an SME workshop on food safety best practices, a meeting of the Partnership Training Institute Network Steering Group, a discussion on best approaches for risk management, a Workshop on Incident Management , and a meeting of the Food Safety Cooperation Forum held on the margins of the APEC second Senior Officials Meeting (SOM 2) in Surabaya,:
- SME Workshop on Food Safety Best Practices, April 10
- PTIN Steering Group Meeting, April 11: On the margins of every FSCF and more often as needed, representatives of the PTIN Steering Group meet to discuss capacity building priorities and activities in risk analysis, incident management, supply chain management, laboratory capacity building, and food safety regulatory systems.
- Discussion on Best Approaches for Risk Analysis, April 11
- Food Safety Incident Network Seminar, April 12: In 2011, the FSCF noted the need to share information on emerging food safety issues and communication during food safety emergencies. Australia will organize a seminar to implement a food safety incident management network for the Asia Pacific region building on the work of INFOSAN. The seminar will bring together a core group of incident management specialists to develop the scope, role, and functions of the network.
- Food Safety Cooperation Forum, April 13: Once every two years APEC food safety regulators meet to assess progress in building regional capacity in the FSCF’s four identified priorities areas: 1) food safety regulatory systems; 2) food inspection and certification systems; 3) technical skills and human resource capacity; and 4) information sharing and communication networks. The FSCF is the only opportunity for the leaders of APEC's food safety regulatory agencies to meet and agree on collaborative efforts to build a robust regional food safety system.
World Bank Global Food Safety Partnership Annual Conference
Date: December 10-12, 2012
Location: Paris, France
The World Bank held the first annual meeting of the Global Food Safety Partnership (GFSP) conference in Paris December 10-12. Building off of the APEC FSCF and PTIN public private partnership capacity building model, the Word Bank Group administered Global Food Safety Partnership seeks to create a multi-stakeholder platform that can address food safety capacity building. The GFSP is funded through a combination of private and public donations.
Final Conference Statement
Download PDF
STAG Laboratory Capacity Planning Meeting
Date: November 19, 2012
Location: Washington D.C.
New lab work is currently underway under the PTIN to guide the development of a lab initiative, focusing on technical matters. STAG seeks to address a holistic evaluation of food safety lab use. With the goal of creating a pilot capacity building template by next year, STAG aims to create a customized approach that can be applied to all APEC economies.
Overview of 2012 Efforts
Download PDF
Current Laboratory Capacity Building Plan
Download PDF
PTIN Export Certificate Workshop
Date: April 24-25, 2012
The PTIN Export Certification Workshop was held on April 24-25 in Greenbelt, Maryland. This workshop built on outcomes from an FSCF PTIN Export Certification Roundtable held in February 2010 in Australia on the margins of Codex CCFICS meetings where best practices for the appropriate use of export certificates were identified. The working group discussed Codex guidance and use of Codex model certificates, discussed criteria for determining when a food or agricultural certificate should or should not be required, discussed appropriate use of export certificate attestations and encouraged use of electronic certificates.
Remarks from Dr. Sri Mulyani of the World Bank at the GMA Science Forum on April 4, 2012
Date: April 4, 2012
Dr. Sri Mulyani of the World Bank spoke at the GMA Science Forum on April 4, 2012 and discussed World Bank efforts in food safety, the Partnership Training Institute Network and the Global Food Safety Partnership.