Food Safety
The international community has long recognized food safety as an integral part of food security. Food safety can affect availability and access to both calories and micronutrients, limit utilization and uptake, and adversely affect the stability of dietary intake. Vulnerable populations—such as the ultra-poor, the elderly, and the immune-compromised—are especially at risk.
The lack of food safety costs individuals and society. These costs are usually measured through a combination of disability adjusted life years (DALYs) and direct outlays for treatment.
In addition, food safety challenges can impede economic growth that would otherwise occur through increases in harvests and trade.
Abt responds to food safety challenges around the world. Our interventions focus on:
- the policy, legal, and regulatory environment;
- risk assessment, management, and communications;
- high profile hazards;
- key aspects of food control systems, such as surveillance, laboratory services, and recalls; and
- improving compliance of supply chain actors with respect to both official standards and private requirements.
Moreover, Abt staff members have longstanding working relationships on food safety with:
- international agencies such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank, and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO);
- leading regulatory bodies through the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Food Safety Cooperation Forum’s Partnership Training Initiative; and
- private scheme-holders such as Global Food Safety Initiative and GlobalGAP.