Call for experts - WHO Technical Advisory Group on Food Safety: safer food for better health

Background

Food can reduce hunger, provide nutrition, exchange culture, reduce poverty, facilitate trade, and bring enjoyment. However, all these functions cannot be achieved without safe food. From the data obtained in 2010, it was estimated that unsafe food cause 600 million foodborne illnesses, 420,000 deaths, 33 million Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) per year based on the first global report on the estimates of foodborne illnesses burden published by WHO in 2015¹. Food safety is a public health priority and due to its multidisciplinary nature, ensuring safe food requires a holistic and cross-sectoral approach for collaboration with all relevant stakeholders.

WHO’s role in food safety is to reduce the burden of foodborne illnesses by advising and assisting Member States to minimize the exposure to unacceptable levels of chemicals or microorganisms in food.

Compared with one decade ago, food safety is facing many emerging risks from a globalized and much more complex agri-food supply chain, the unsustainable food systems, the influence of disease transmission pattern by environmental changes and human activities. Besides challenges, all evolving new technologies, such as the blockchain for better transparency and traceability, whole-genome sequencing for the detection of foodborne and zoonotic pathogens, biotechnology and nanotechnology used in food production, bring new insights and uncertainties into the risk management of food safety. It is time to thoroughly analyze all the challenges and opportunities and come up with innovative and cost-benefit solutions.  

At 146^th Session of the WHO Executive Board meeting held on 3-8 February 2020 in Geneva, Switzerland, the Board discussed food safety under the agenda item 19, “Accelerating efforts on food safety”(EB146/25) and recommended the adoption of a resolution on “Strengthening efforts on food safety”(EB146.R9). The Seventy-third World Health Assembly adopted this resolution, which requests  WHO to update, in coordination with FAO, and in consultation with Member States and OIE, the WHO global strategy for food safety in order to address current and emerging challenges, incorporating new technologies and including innovative strategies for strengthening food safety systems, and to submit a report for consideration by the Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly.

Based on all these needs, WHO will update the Global Strategy for Food Safety: safer food for better health² that was endorsed by the Executive Board in 2002³ and aims to deliver a new strategy by 2022. With this updated strategy, international efforts in food safety will be strengthened and harmonized to lower the burden of foodborne illnesses, therefore, contributing to a healthier population and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.   

Objective of the call

The objective of the call is to identify international renowned experts who are willing to serve in WHO technical advisory group (TAG) to advise WHO’s work in food safety strategically. The functions of this TAG are listed as below (Please also refer to the Annex 1, Terms of Reference):

• To identify and describe current and future challenges along the agri-food supply chain;
• To advise WHO on strategic directions to be prioritized to improve national food safety system;
• To identify interventions and activities to improve food safety for WHO’s analysis;
• To advise WHO on the update of the Global Strategy for food safety and any other matters (implementation, monitoring and evaluation) relating to the Strategy;
• To advise WHO on the establishment of a global taskforce on food safety impact measurement to measure progress towards the implementation of the global strategy and achieving Sustainable Development Goals; and
• To advise WHO on requests specified in any current and future food safety-related resolutions and/or decisions adopted by the WHO governing bodies.

Criteria and expertise required

Applicants should at least have one of the required expertise as listed below: 

• Surveillance and detection for foodborne pathogens, contaminants and diseases 
• Food safety emergency preparedness and response
• Microbiological and toxicological food safety risk analysis
• Food law and regulations 
• Food frauds
• New food technologies and research in food science and agricultural science
• Veterinary science, crop health, biosecurity and climate change
• Antimicrobial resistance in the food chain
• Economics and trade of food systems
• Nutrition and food security 

Moreover, successful candidates should meet most or all of the following qualifications: 

• Hold an advanced University degree(s) in food safety, food technology, food law, microbiology, toxicology, climate change, veterinary science, food safety economics, epidemiology, public health, or related fields;
• Extensive working experience in food safety or a related field;
• Scientific excellence evidenced by publications in peer-reviewed journals;
• Evidence of leadership or invited participation in national or international scientific bodies, committees, and other expert advisory bodies pertinent to the scope of this work;
• Ability to work with people from different cultural backgrounds as well as with scientists from various disciplines. 

Application

Interested applicants should finish the online application form and attach their curriculum vitae and DOI form (please download the form when you entering the online application) in the last part of the online application form no later than 11 September 2020 (CET). An applicant will be made available by his or her employer for engaging in this WHO work and be released for an international meeting at least once a year and quarterly teleconferences.

Process for selection of experts

The criteria for the selection of experts are the basic and essential qualifications together with the proven competence and expertise in the various areas as described above. Applicants’ responses of the online application form will be reviewed on the basis of the criteria listed above by a selection panel of three or more WHO technical staff. The purpose of the panel review is to determine whether the applicants meet all the essential requirements. The highly qualified individuals selected from the applicants will be used by WHO to invite experts to meetings and/or expert consultations In the selection of the TAG members, consideration will be given to attaining an adequate distribution of technical expertise, geographical representation and gender balance

Appointment of experts

Appointment as TAG members will be for a period of 2 years.  The names of affiliations of TAG members will be public information. Experts will be selected in their individual capacity on the basis of their expert knowledge to give advice on specific topics. The term "individual capacity" means that the expert is expressly expected to serve in his/her capacity as an independent expert rather than a representative of his or her employer. The views of the independent expert would not necessarily be reflective of any views and positions of his or her employer. All experts will be required to complete a Declarations of Interests (DOI) form before participation in any expert meetings can be confirmed. 

Experts do not receive any remuneration from the Organization. However, when attending meetings by invitation of WHO, they shall be entitled, in accordance with the administrative regulations of the Organization, to reimbursement of travel expenses and to a daily living allowance during such meetings.

WHO focal point

Amina Benyahia, a.i. Unit Head
Multisectoral Actions in Food Systems Unit
Department of Nutrition and Food Safety
World Health Organization
Email: fos-strategy@who.int

² https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/42559/9241545747.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y accessed on 3 July 2020.