International Risk Assessment of Food Ingredients Project
In addition to the food additive international harmonization project, ILSI Taiwan is conducting an additional project focusing on international risk assessment of food ingredients, sponsored by the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI). The ongoing research project aims to investigate risk assessment and management practices used to support the creation and implementation of food safety regulations internationally, with the goal of providing a reference source for the process of reviewing and updating the current food safety framework in Taiwan.
A preliminary investigation into the risk assessment organizations, policies, and practices of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), as well as countries worldwide including the United States, China, and Japan, was completed in the project’s first year (2015). The project’s expert working group compared and contrasted international standards to current practices in Taiwan and proposed recommendations based on these findings – mainly, that Taiwan should follow the common global practices of establishing a separate organization dedicated to conducting food safety risk assessments and of creating a framework for regulating the safety of food ingredients based on risk assessment.
The project in the second year (2016) continued to review international regulations and practices while consulting with domestic experts and industry representatives, hoping to formulate a comprehensive framework for food safety risk assessment in Taiwan that complies with international standards while accommodating local conditions.
The third year of the project (2017) will be focused on Investigation on International Practices on Food Safety Auditing and Monitoring.
For more information about this project, please contact: lainie@ilsitaiwan.org
ILSI Taiwan & Coca-Cola Food Safety Risk Assessment Training Fellowship Program
Initially organized by ILSI Focal Point in China and Coca-Cola Beverages (China) Co., Ltd., the Coca-Cola Training Fellowship was established as a means to foster the development of young scientists in food safety risk assessment related subject fields. Recognizing the merits of such a program and the associate potential for developing Taiwan’s food safety risk assessment field, ILSI Taiwan began working with the Coca-Cola Company in 2014 to implement a similar fellowship in Taiwan, working towards the long-term goal of building a team of risk assessment experts to improve research and practices locally.
In 2015, two candidates were selected in the fellowship program’s first year to train for three months with representatives from the United States, China, Japan, India, and many other countries worldwide at the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN).
In 2017, one candidate will visit The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment in Germany and undertake a six-month training.
For more information, please contact: lainie@ilsitaiwan.org