G/SPS/GEN/1914  
 
11 June 2021 
(21-4825) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
INFORMATION TO MEMBERS  
AVAILABLE SELF -PACED VIRTUAL SPS COURSES  
JULY 2021 WTO SPS COMMITTEE MEETING  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA  
The following document , received on 9 June  2021, is being circulated at the request of the Delegation 
of the United Sta tes of America . 
 
_______________  
 
 
1.  The United States is hosting a virtual SPS side event, "Improved SPS Capacity Through Distance 
Learning", which will be held on Thursday, 15 July 202 1, at 13 :30 hours CEST, during which the 
United States will introduce a new, free, web -based SPS training resource.  
2.  These online SPS courses, which are open and available to everyone, are a powerful tool for 
training regulators, farmers,  food and agricultural sector business operators, international 
agricultural development professionals, and other stakeholders in the development and 
enhancement of modern plant health, animal health, and food safety systems. The event will 
highlight recently added courses on animal health and food safety, offer a step -by-step 
demonstration on how to use this online resource, and share l essons learned from implementation.  
3.  There are sixteen courses available that cover a wide variety of SPS topics and support the 
integration of SPS principles along agricultural value chains. The courses provide students with 
information on how to incorpora te and use science -based risk analysis concepts and tools to address 
plant health, animal health, and food safety challenges.  
4.  Topics include plant pest surveillance, plant pest identification systems, plant pest inspections, 
animal health disease surveilla nce, and the essential components of modern food safety systems.  
5.  The online courses are open to everyone and self -paced and select learning topics are available 
in multiple languages including English, French, Spanish, and Dari.  Courses can be accessed online 
at http://www.sps courses.com/ , and participants will be prompted to complete a brief enrollment 
process.  
6.  The online courses were developed by the United States Food Safety Network (FSN), in 
partnership with Texas A&M University. The Food Safety Network is a US Government ( USG) 
interagency collaboration between the US Department of Agriculture, the US Agency for 
International Development, and the US Food and Drug Administration. The online courses aim to 
advance SPS regulatory capacity building in support of the USG Global F ood Security Strategy goals 
of improving food security, reducing poverty, and reducing malnutrition.  
7.  The FSN and Texas A&M University introduced fourteen plant health courses to the international 
community in 2018 and published the food safety and animal h ealth courses in Spring 2021. 
Since  their launch, these courses have been accessed by more than 1,500 users in over 
100 countries.  
8.  These online courses have allowed the United States to continue to provide SPS technical 
assistance, even as the COVID -19 pan demic has limited in -person engagement.  G/SPS/GEN/1914  
 
- 2 - 
 
  9.  The online courses were shared with the international SPS community during Standards and 
Trade Development Facility (STDF) Working Group meetings and the United States welcomes the 
opportunity to share more informati on about http://www.spscourses.com/  at the side event on 
15 July. 
__________