WTO aims to protect consumers from polluted food

The Dollar Business Bureau


The 65th meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) conference in Geneva had provided an outreach on FDA’s new food safety regulations. The aim was to protect consumers from polluted food - a global concern as well as key FDA priority.

The WTO’s Committee for Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) is an important body that provides an opportunity for the discussion of food safety and animal and plant health issues that affect the international food trade.

During the conference, the WTO also focused on sharing information about the FDA Food Safety Modernisation Act (FSMA) rules which would ensure the safety of foods exported to the United States.

Three new FSMA rules included information about produce safety, foreign supplier verification programs, and accredited third-party certification.

Under the support of this SPS Committee, US trade, and regulatory agencies, comprising FDA, would work with governments worldwide on trade issues related to food safety.

More than 33 countries and international organisations were seeking to learn more about the new food safety regulations.

More than 50 representatives had participated in the outreach session. The members of the WTO had shown their interest in understanding and meeting the regulatory requirements in FSMA rules, in order to ship safe products to the US.

The United States is a member of the WTO, which has 162 member nations and observer organisations.