GLOBAL FOOD SAFETY
IICA’s Role in Improving
Global Food Safety
How the Inter-American
Institute for Cooperation on
Agriculture strengthens global
food safety capacity
The availability of safe food is fundamental to ensuring human health and productivity, national economic well-being and poverty reduction. The 2010 World Health Organiza- tion (WHO) Global Burden of Foodborne Disease
report estimated that 600 million people fall ill each
year after consuming contaminated food. Of these, an
estimated 420,000 people will die. Foodborne illnesses
result from the ingestion of contaminated foods and
include a broad group of illnesses caused by pathogens,
chemicals and parasites that contaminate food during
production, processing and distribution. International
trade, migration and travel can increase the spread of
dangerous pathogens and contaminants in food, making
food safety a truly global issue.
The Americas are one of the world’s leading food
producing and exporting regions. Covering one-quarter
of Earth’s land area and home to over 1 billion people,
the hemisphere has enormous natural wealth, a diverse
and productive agricultural industry and a robust family
farming sector. Despite these advantages, or perhaps due
in part to them, food safety is of central importance to
all countries in the region, regardless of their level of development. Beyond threats associated with any specific
product or contaminant, the most pressing challenge is
to establish, promote and support a food safety culture,
one in which all consumers both expect and have access
to healthy food, regardless of where or by whom it is
produced.
This challenge is manifest in divergent food production and food safety
systems that would appear to offer different assurances for domestically consumed products versus those intended
for export. Costs, prices and foreign
consumer demand drive this bifurcation, which can erode a country’s food
safety culture by presenting confusing,
mixed messages to domestic consumers
and increasing the gap between public
and private sector technical capacities
to ensure consumer safety. To be successful in today’s marketplace, countries
must navigate this challenge with forethought, patience and skill to protect
consumers while maximizing both domestic and international opportunities.
IICA and Food Safety
For 75 years, the Inter-American
Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) has promoted agricultural
development and well-being in its 34
Member States. IICA has evolved into
an international technical cooperation
organization that responds to the demands of the agricultural sector. This
sector is the engine of development
in the Americas, capable of generating
economic growth and prosperity for
the region’s population. Unlocking the
agricultural sector’s potential is crucial
to achieve food security, one of humankind’s greatest challenges.
IICA provides results-based technical
cooperation through close collaboration
with its Member States. With its network of offices, IICA has demonstrated
expertise in working with governmental
and private sector counterparts, sharing
its wealth of experience in areas such
as technology and innovation for agriculture, agribusiness, agricultural trade,
rural development, natural resource
management and agricultural health and
food safety (AHFS).
Within the focus area of AHFS,
IICA supports a broad range of capac-