G20 Global Food Regulators Summit in Delhi to focus on crucial aspects of food safety

The summit would lead to the harmonization of global food safety standards, improved regulatory frameworks and the provision of safe and high-quality food for consumers worldwide.

The Global Food Regulators Summit 2023 would be organised in New Delhi on 20th and 21st July. This is for the first time that a meeting like this is being organised as a G20 event. In this high profile meeting, food regulators from over 40 countries will participate along with representatives from 30 International Organisations and 25 International Research Institutes and universities.

The summit is being organized by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under the aegis of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare unveiled the logo of the Summit on July 17.

The Summit will provide a valuable platform to the participants to deliberate on a cohesive network on Food Safety and Regulatory aspects, effective understanding of compliance requirements and mutual exchange of best practices, experiences and success stories on food safety norms and regulations, explore opportunities to identify collaborative work areas to establish synergies among global regulators or agencies and develop tools and techniques for information sharing.

The minister said, ‘This is the first time the summit is being held outside Rome, Italy. The Global Food Regulators Summit will bring focus on the crucial aspect of food safety, which needs as much attention as food security’.

He added that the summit will serve as a platform for food regulators from over 40 countries to collaborate and work together.

The minister further expressed his confidence that through collective efforts, the summit would lead to the harmonization of global food safety standards, improved regulatory frameworks and the provision of safe and high-quality food for consumers worldwide.

Prof. S P Singh Baghel, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare calling the Global Food Regulators Summit as both, important and relevant said, “This summit aligns with the theme of India’s G20 Presidency- One Earth, One Family, One Future. Indian tradition has always been about Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah, and this summit is a step in that direction”.

The meeting is expected to witness active participation from various stakeholders representing a wide range of countries, international organizations and national entities. Food regulators from G20 member countries will attend the summit and demonstrate their commitment to enhancing food safety systems and regulatory frameworks.

Renowned international organizations as well as several food research institutes such as the World Health Organization (WHO), CODEX, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) (Germany), the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (USA), Health Canada, the Australian Institute of Food Safety and Technology, etc., will contribute their expertise and perspectives to the discussions.

National stakeholders including the Department of Commerce, the Ministry of Food Processing, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), the Export Inspection Council (EIC), and several others will actively contribute to the summit. These agencies would showcase their collective efforts and commitment to ensuring safe and high-quality food for all.

Several groundbreaking initiatives would also be launched on this occasion, that will revolutionize the accessibility and sharing of food safety information. Among these initiatives is the release of Food-o-Copoeia, a comprehensive collection of food category-wise monographs, serving as a single-point reference for all applicable standards for specific product categories.

The common regulators platform ‘SaNGRAH’- Safe food for Nations: Global food Regulatory Authorities Handbook, is another notable initiative, which would be launched. It is a comprehensive database of Food Regulatory Authorities from 76 countries worldwide, presenting their mandates, food safety ecosystems, food testing facilities, contact details for food authorities, and information related to SPS/TBT/Codex/WAHO.

SaNGRAH is available not only in Hindi and English but also in six Indian languages—Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.

The Summit will also witness the launch of a Common Digital Dashboard—a unified IT portal providing comprehensive information on standards, regulations, notifications, advisories, guidelines, contamination limits, and the latest developments by Food Regulators in India.