Page 63 - Trade and Food Standards

Methods of production and processing, as Science and technology continuously advance. It is
well as the paths that food travels along from farm to fork, are continuously evolving. The standards world must be ready to adjust to ensure that food trade can continue to flow smoothly. Stakeholders will need to be prepared, able to pick up the signals that change is taking place and to steer their national frameworks accordingly.
As new and challenging issues in food standards and trade inevitably emerge, there is no room to remain complacent. The mechanisms and processes available to them through Codex, FAO and the WTO, are important tools members can use to meet these new challenges.
Countries will need to stay alert and take a proactive approach, regularly updating their capacities and staying informed to identify new challenges.
Trade and production patterns evolve. In the manufacturing industry, for example, it is no longer the norm to design, develop, build and then sell a vehicle or a piece of high-tech equipment in the same place: there is an evolving global supply chain whereby design, manufacture and assembly often occur on several different continents. Similarly, food products are often grown in one country, processed in another and consumed in a third. Information technology and electronic commerce are also changing the way trade takes place, creating new opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises to enter value chains.
now possible to detect minute quantities of radiation and ever-smaller residues of pesticides in fruits and vegetables. Against this backdrop of change, how can national authorities ensure that risk analysis, risk management and risk communication remain fit for purpose? How will regulators face the challenges and take advantage of the benefits of advances in technology? How will they face climate change or manage transboundary diseases? In this dynamic situation, the role of regulators in ensuring food safety, quality, authenticity and information is as vital as ever.
Countries will need to stay alert and take a proactive approach, regularly updating their capacities and staying informed to identify new challenges. Such an approach will better enable them to shape, and not simply follow, international discussions in Codex and the WTO, and make the right decisions to respond to changing circumstances.
The role of Codex will remain critical as it is called upon to continuously update its “rule book” as science evolves and regulators turn to international standardizing bodies for guidance. Members’ engagement is necessary to ensure that Codex can continue to play this role, making sure that the rules remain relevant and up to date. In this changing context, easing trade frictions and disseminating guidance and best practice through the WTO SPS and TBT Committees is equally vital.
This section will present selected drivers of change at the intersection of food standards and trade. Examples regarding socio-economic factors, public health, new technology, and the environment demonstrate the need for standards to evolve in order to keep pace with the changing food system. Strong national preparation and engagement by members in the global system of food standards and trade is the best way to meet the challenges and opportunities that arise.
Drivers of change
The advance of science and technology is one of the most important drivers of change at the nexus of food standards and trade. New technologies continue to be developed for application to production, processing and handling of food and
Part 3. A dynamic system 51