Defining Risk in Food Safety in the Philippines

Abstract

Food safety is a fundamental public health concern that is dependent on various factors such as changing global food production patterns, public expectations, and international trade policies.1,2 As a member of the World Trade Organization, the Philippines has agreed to follow the Uruguay Round of Trade Organization, the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement and Technical Barriers to Trade that permits countries to take legitimate measures to protect life and health of their consumers in relation to food safety matters while prohibiting them from using those measures in a way that unjustifiably restricts food trade.3,4,5 The Philippines is also a member of the Codex Alimentarius Commission that aims to ensure consumer protection and to facilitate international trade.6 With these objectives, Codex focuses on the development of food standards based on risk analysis and independent scientific advice provided by expert bodies organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization.7 Risk analysis is a systematic and disciplined methodology that provides policymakers with the science-based information and evidence needed for effective and transparent decision-making, leading to improvements in food safety and public health.8 In the Philippines, Republic Act No. 10611 or the Food Safety Act of 2013, serves as the framework for implementing the farm to fork food safety regulatory system which ensures a high level of consumer health protection, fair trade practices and global competitiveness of Philippine foods by controlling hazards in the food chain, adoption of precautionary measures based on scientific risk analysis, and adoption of international standards.9