WORLD TRADE G/SPS/GEN/38
8October 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-4260)
Original: English Committee onSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures
MATTERS OFINTEREST ARISING FROM THE WORK OFWHO
Statement bytheRepresentative oftheWorld Health Organization (WHO)
attheMeeting of15-16 October 1997
Since thelastsession oftheSPSCommittee, WHO convened twoexpert meetings relative
tofoodsafety matters incooperation withother international agencies.
1. Food Safety Implication ofProducts from Aquaculture
AStudy Group onFood Safety issues associated withproducts fromaquaculture wasjointly
organised from22to26July1997inThailand bytheFisheries Department oftheFAO, theNetwork
ofAquaculture Centres inAsiaandthePacific, andtheProgramme ofFood Safety andFood Aidof
theWHO. Themeeting wasattended byexperts from 15countries.
Aquaculture iscurrently oneofthefastest growing foodproduction systems intheworld with
production increasing atanaverage rateof9.6percentperyearoverthepastdecade. Theincreasing
global importance ofaquaculture isdirectly related tothecontribution itmakes toreducing thegap
between supply anddemand forfishandfishery products. Withover-exploitation inthecapture fisheries
sector inmostregions, initiatives tostrengthen environmentally-friendly andsustainable aquaculture
development, particularly among small-scale producers, needtobepursued toensure amaximum
contribution toworld foodsecurity. Approximately 90percentofglobal aquaculture production is
based inAsia, where itprovides animportant source ofdietary animal protein oftheregion andincome
formany small-scale farmers. Commercial aquaculture contributes significantly totheeconomies of
many producing countries, where highvalued species areamajor source offoreign exchange.
TheStudy Group considered foodsafety issues associated withfarmed finfish andcrustaceans,
particularly those associated withbiological andchemical contamination thatmayoccur during the
production ofthese aquatic products. Itconsidered theidentification andquantification ofhazards
andhowtoimplement measures forcontrol ofpotential foodsafety hazards, including current national
andinternational programmes.
Themain conclusions from themeeting were that:
(i) thereisaneedforanintegrated approach tocontrolling hazards associated withproducts
from aquaculture which requires close collaboration between thehealth, agriculture
andaquaculture, foodsafety, andeducation sectors;
(ii) food safety assurance measures should beincluded infishfarm management
programmes;
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(iii) thefoodsafety assurance measures should bebased ontheHACCP system, although
allparticipants recognized thedifficulty inapplying suchmeasures tosubsistence
aquaculture;
(iv) therisks tohuman health from chemicals usedasfertilizers andwater treatment
compounds inaquaculture production arelow;
(v) risksfromchemotherapeutants usedinaquaculture areassociated withresidues inedible
portions offishfleshandthese canbesignificant, especially incountries where the
saleanduseofthese compounds areuncontrolled;
(vi) there istheadded riskofantimicrobial resistance developing inthebacterial floraof
fishfarms andofsuchantibiotic resistant bacteria entering thefoodchain;
(vii) pesticides required inaquaculture canposefoodsafety hazards, andmore information
isneeded onthetypes ofcompounds thatareactually used, andstudies should be
conducted todetermine ifpondtreatments withpesticides result inresidue levels that
arepotentially harmful tohuman health.
2. Wholesomeness ofFood Irradiated withDoses above 10kGy
AJoint FAO/IAEA/WHO Study Group onHigh Dose Food Irradiation wasconvened from
15to19September 1997 inGeneva. Irradiation hasbeenconsidered asoneoftheeffective options
tomanage microbial foodhazards. Inthecontext ofuniversally growing concern ontheoutbreaks
offoodborne diseases, theStudy Group wasorganised toconsider ifthefieldofapplication ofthe
technique, currently recognised assafeatleastupto10kGy, could beexpanded.
TheStudy Group reviewed allrelevant datarelated tothetoxicological, microbiological,
nutritional, radiation chemical andphysical aspects offoodexposed todoses higher than10kGywith
aview todetermining iffoodsotreated issafeandnutritionally adequate. Italsoconsidered ifa
maximum doseneeds tobespecified.
Themain conclusions oftheStudy Group included:
(i) Food irradiated under proper conditions toalldoses appropriate totheintended
technological objectives issafetoconsumers andadequate fornutrition.
(ii) Theprocess isself-limiting, which means thatnoupper doselimitshould beimposed.