Risks of animal-derived food in a global market – Are we ready for the challenges?

Abstract

2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Today, most people live in urban areas and buy their food in supermarkets.When reading the labels that display its origin, shoppers quickly realise that food is increasingly traded at an international level. According to the principles of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), products (including food) can be traded freely unless there is evidence that such trade will increase risks for the public or animal health or for the environment. Consumers can thus benefit froma year-round supply of fresh food at competitive prices. However, animal-derived food can harbour various health hazards such as toxins or pathogens. Recent examples of food safety incidents (such as the contamination of milk with melamine or pork with dioxin) illustrate the extent of global food chains and the amount of damage that can occur when things go wrong. The recall of contaminated pork originating from Ireland in December 2008 affected the pork supply of no less than 23 countries. The management of risk in international, increasingly complex food systems therefore requires special capacity and expertise. Epidemiologists and veterinary public health specialists attending the annual conference of the Society for Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine in London in April 2009 were, however, highly sceptical about the current level of preparedness and competency in the veterinary profession. Is this a sign of self-depreciation, low self-confidence or a true reflection of where we are? And if the latter is the case what needs to be done? Considering that the total annual export value of agricultural products – most of which is food – is estimated to be over US$1000 billion, the global food market is a reality. More than 200 countries participate in international food trade but few currently have positive net food trade balances. The self-sufficiency of many industrialised countries has been declining since the 18th century. In the United Kingdom, for example, self-sufficiency is currently about 60%, but in Japan it is only 40%. Most countries are both importers and exporters of food, resulting in complex trade patterns. Sometimes raw products are exported for processing and then re-imported as finished products. This caused considerable debate among consumers in the UK in 2006 when it was realised that prawns caught in the British Isles were shipped to Thailand for shelling and then sold as British products after re-importing. The opportunities of international food trade are attractive and help create international food businesses that operate at various levels along the food chain. Global businesses are active in feed production and animal farming, for example of poultry and pigs. Global integration also occurs at the food manufacturing level, but remains limited with the top 50 food manufacturers accounting for 30% of the global market share. In recent years, most major trade disruptions in international food chains have been due to chemical hazards. Microbiological contaminants also cause recalls, but the number of exposed consumers is typically smaller and risk management can often be effective even at the very end of the chain when food is thoroughly cooked. This is not the case for chemical contaminants, which are very difficult if not impossible to remove once they enter the food chain. The key risk management tool is then a recall, which is costly, particularly when applied at an international or global level. Undiscriminating recalls can considerably affect consumer trust and affect large parts of the industry originally unaffected by an 1090-0233/$ see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2009.07.016 * Tel.: +44 1707 666 025; fax: +44 1707 666 574. E-mail address: kstaerk@rvc.ac.uk 1 See: www.svepm.org.uk. 2 For detailed statistics see www.faostat.fao.org. The Veterinary Journal 184 (2010) 121–123