Food safety is a shared responsibility of governments, organizations, and the private sector. Prevention strategies throughout the food chain are the best way to ensure safety, but not all hazards can be eliminated. Rapid access to food safety information is necessary for addressing incidents resulting from contamination of internationally traded food. Recognizing the value of rapid access to information through multisectoral collaboration for timely detection and response to food safety incidents, the FAO/WHO International Food Safety Authorities Networks (INFOSAN) secretariat has continued to organize regional meetings for Member States to share experiences and challenges in food safety emergencies.

Post-pandemic, the INFOSAN secretariat, in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of the Republic of Korea (RoK), is delighted to organize its first in-person regional meeting for Asia-Pacific (invite-only). This regional meeting aims to unite INFOSAN members from Asia Pacific, providing a forum to exchange insights, share experiences, and collectively develop action plans to elevate food safety standards. The INFOSAN members will join us to enhance communication with the INFOSAN Secretariat, promote harmonized approaches to emergency response, and strengthen collaboration among food safety authorities in the region.

Session objectives

• Gaining insights into INFOSAN notifications and follow-up activities
• Strengthening national and regional INFOSAN networks
• Identifying priorities for updating food safety emergency response plans
• Enhancing IHR capacity in multisectoral collaboration for food safety
• Fostering collaboration and networking
• Improving the role of INFOSAN in enhancing food safety at national and regional levels

Expected outcomes

• Update on the INFOSAN Global Strategy 2020-2025 implementation.
• Inform INFOSAN Membership in the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia WHO Member states
• Identifying key activities to strengthen/update emergency response plans and enhance multisectoral collaboration
• Strengthening collaboration and networking among INFOSAN members
• Providing recommendations for improving regional activities
• Identifying areas of priorities for the INFOSAN Secretariat

Target audience

• Food and Related Authorities in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Emergency contact points, focal persons, and IHR national focal points
• FAO and WHO staff in headquarters, regional, and country offices
• All INFOSAN members

For any inquiries, please contact the INFOSAN Secretariat at [email protected].