FAO/WHO Regional Conference on Food Safety for the Americas and the Caribbean, San José, Costa Rica, 6-9 December 2005
This Conference is part of a series of regional conferences on food safety that FAO and WHO are convening in response to requests from member countries for policy advice and capacity building in food safety management.
The first such events were held in Budapest (February 2002- Europe), Seremban, Malaysia (May 2004- Asia and Pacific), Amman (March 2005- Near East) and Harare (October 2005- Africa). The Conference is being held in line with the recommendations of the first (Marrakech, Morocco, January 2002) and second (Bangkok, Thailand, October 2004) Joint FAO/WHO Global Fora of Food Safety Regulators.
This Regional Conference on Food Safety for the Americas and the Caribbean will work to:
- Facilitate discussion on food safety issues important to all countries of the Americas and the Caribbean and identify practical and sustainable actions to address these issues;
- Identify opportunities for improving regional cooperation in promoting food safety to protect human health and increase food trade opportunities, taking into account the prevailing conditions in agriculture, post-harvest operations, food processing, food trade, public health and consumer protection;
- Promote the strengthening and/or the establishment of regional networks for the exchange of food safety-related information and experiences among all stakeholders;
- Encourage public/private partnerships for consumer and industry awareness raising and capacity building in food safety;
- Promote improved interaction between academia, research organizations and other food safety officials.