Animal Production Food Safety

In response to the demand from consumers worldwide for safe food, the OIE is working with relevant organisations to reduce food borne risks to human health due to hazards arising from animal production. In this context, a hazard is defined as a biological, chemical or physical agent in food with the potential to cause an adverse health effect in humans, whether or not it causes disease in animals. The 3rd OIE Strategic Plan (2001-2005) recommended that "OIE should be more active in the area of public health and consumer protection," and noted that this should include "zoonoses and diseases transmissible to humans through food, whether or not animals are affected by such diseases", with the object of improving the safety of the "food production to consumption continuum" worldwide.

In 2002, the Director General of the OIE established a permanent Working Group on Animal Production Food Safety (APFSWG) to coordinate the food safety activities of the OIE. The Working Group's membership includes internationally recognized experts from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), and reflects a broad geographical basis.

Under the 4th OIE Strategic Plan (2006-2010) the OIE’s role and work programme relevant to animal production food safety was firmly established, and the arrangements for cooperation with the CAC in the provision to governments and other interested parties with consistent, coherent and complementary advice on the management of food safety risks from the farm to the fork.  The 5th OIE Strategic Plan (2011-2015) confirms the mandate of the APFSWG to continue working with relevant organisations, especially the CAC, FAO and WHO, with the goal of reducing risks to human health due to hazards arising from animal products. The Working Group will continue its programme for the development of standards relevant to the pre-slaughter sector of the food chain, with a primary focus on food safety measures applicable at the farm level. This work includes pathogens and other hazards that do not normally cause disease in animals.

The Director General of the OIE receives advice from the APFSWG and relevant OIE Specialist Commissions on the activities of the OIE in the area of animal production food safety.

The APFSWG recognised that the goals of the OIE can only be achieved by working in collaboration with the WHO, the FAO and their subsidiary bodies, particularly the CAC. Regular participation in each other’s standard setting work has helped to improve the coverage by official standards of the whole food production continuum and to avoid gaps, duplications and potential contradictions in the standards and guidelines of the two organisations. This is particularly evident in the recent work by both organisations on Salmonella in poultry, and the current work on Trichinella, where a whole food chain approach has been taken.

The OIE has also strengthened formal and informal relationships with relevant international organisations and expert groups.

The membership of OIE Working Groups (including the APFSWG) is based on internationally recognised scientific expertise, with balanced geographic representation an important secondary consideration. Members are proposed by the OIE Director General and presented for endorsement by the World Assembly of Delegates meeting in plenary at the OIE General Session annually in May. Participating experts are expected to contribute objectively to the discussion and not to represent the views of a particular country, sector or organisation.

On the right hand side of this page you can find information on the membership, terms of reference and modus operandi of the APFSWG, selected documents, meeting reports and a link to the OIETerrestrial Animal Health Code (the Terrestrial Code) on line.

Source: http://www.oie.int/en/food-safety/food-safety-key-themes