J P Nadda Calls for Equal Emphasis on Food Safety and Food Security at GFRS 2024

Union Health Minister J P Nadda emphasised the importance of prioritising food safety alongside food security for global well-being. He spoke at the unveiling of the logo and brochures for the Global Food Regulators Summit (GFRS) 2024, set for September 19-21 in New Delhi. Organised by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), it coincides with World Food India 2024, hosted by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.

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Nadda highlighted that while food security has been a longstanding international focus, food safety deserves equal attention to protect global health. The summit aims to create a platform for food regulators worldwide to share insights on enhancing food safety systems and regulatory frameworks throughout the food value chain.

Global Collaboration and Participation

The event marks the second global food regulator summit, featuring participation from 30 international organisations and over 70 countries. Attendees include representatives from Risk Assessment Authorities, Research Institutes, and Universities. Approximately 5,000 delegates will attend in person, with around 1.5 lakh joining virtually.

Key participants include the World Health Organization (WHO), World Trade Organization (WTO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Codex Alimentarius Commission, European Food Safety Authority, and Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, USA. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General, will address the summit virtually.

Focus on Regional Collaboration

Nadda expressed pride in hosting a regional food regulators conference outside Rome for the first time. The conclave aims to enhance regional collaboration in standard-setting within the Codex Alimentarius Commission. It offers a platform for Asian countries to discuss unique regional challenges related to food safety, trade, and regulation.

The GFRS 2.0 will address critical topics such as antimicrobial resistance mitigation, regulation of health supplements and nutraceuticals, sustainable packaging, ensuring nutrition for all, residue monitoring systems, new-age analysis in food testing, animal feed impact on safety and health, and sports nutrition.

Initiatives and Innovations

The summit will foster a cohesive network for ensuring food safety by developing compliance understanding, sharing best practices, and creating synergies with other nations. The first edition of this summit took place in July 2023 in India as part of a G20 co-branded event.

During the event, FSSAI plans to launch a new portal dedicated to Food Import Rejection Alerts. Additionally, it will introduce a food import clearance system 2.0 to streamline import procedures and enhance safety standards. The State Food Safety Index 2024 will also be unveiled to assess state-level performance in food safety.

The curtain-raiser event saw attendance from Apurva Chandra, Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Chairperson of FSSAI; G Kamala Vardhana Rao, CEO of FSSAI; Nikhil Gajraj, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Health; U S Dhyani, Executive Director of FSSAI; along with senior officials from the Union Health Ministry.