APEC FSCF PTIN

APEC FSCF PTIN
Laboratory Capacity Building
Roadmap for Prioritizing Capacity Building Activities in National and
Regional Food Safety Laboratories
Summarized by:
Janie Dubois, PhD
APEC FSCF
• Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
• Food Safety Cooperation Forum
– Created in 2007
– Agreement on the need to develop a more robust
approach to strengthening food safety standards and
practices in the region, using scientific risk based
approaches and without creating unnecessary
impediments to trade
FSCF PTIN
• Partnership Training Institute Network
– Created specifically to address the need to engage
the food industry and academic food safety
experts with the regulators, to strengthen capacity
building in food safety.
PTIN Recent Activities
• Needs survey performed in 2011
• Training workshops in Thailand in 2011 (audio
recorded for web broadcast on demand)
• Pesticide residues hands-on training pilot workshops
in 2011
– Peru
– Vietnam
– Malaysia
2013 Objective
• Provide a road map tool to help laboratories decide how to
best invest (limited) resource for capacity building
Tools at outcome:
• Self-assessment tools to identify capacity building needs
• Decision tree with branching considering
– Infrastructure available/investments required
– Staff qualifications/training possibilities
– Prioritization based on risk reduction objectives
Schematic
Proficiency Testing
Methods
Lab Accreditation
Economy’s self
assessment of food
safety laboratory
capacity
Training
Laboratory
Infrastructure
Communication
Capacity Building Needs Assessment
• No single survey will give all the answers
– It would be too long
– Would depend on too many people to provide answers
• A series of surveys is more appropriate because
– It is not always necessary to question and tackle everything at once.
– Different people can answer each section at their own pace
Surveys
Not reinventing the wheel, based on:
• APEC FSCF PTIN survey from 2011.
– Focus was on national and regional laboratories, regardless of role in national
structure
• FAO: Strengthening national food control systems; Guidelines to assess
capacity building needs
– Module 4 focuses on national control laboratories
• CIFOR Guidelines for Foodborne Disease Outbreak Response
• And others as discovered and found fit for purpose
Areas Evaluated
Decision Tree
• The “new piece”
• The answer to infinite needs and finite budgets
• What is the most important need, based on
–
–
–
–
Risk to health
Volume of samples
Access to trade markets
Organizational priorities
What Then?
• Over time, build a database of suggested resources. For examples:
• Join WHO FOS capacity building efforts, (especially)
– Establishment of a network of WHO collaborating centers engaged in capacity
building.
– Provision of technical assistance and educational tools for food safety
initiatives.
– Enhancing participation in Codex activities
– Field studies to estimate the burden of foodborne disease
– Risk assessment and monitoring of chemical and microbiological hazards
What Then?
• Regional networks exist and have resources to help other labs
in the region
– E.g. Latin America: RILA/INFAL for national laboratories (no access for
private sector)
• Build regional resources
– Volunteers from government organizations who have received
international help
– Non-profit service providers
– Business services
Outcomes
• Self-assessment tools, which can be done alone or with
guidance (still confidentially)
• Decision tree to prioritize investment of time and budgets in
capacity building, which consideration for objectives
–
trade, health, risk reduction, etc.
• Suggested resources to build capacity
– Resources already available
– Webinars, hands-on training, exchanged visits, etc
Considerations
• Capacity building comes at a financial cost
– Investment by country
– Investment by development organizations
• The rate of capacity building will be different for all countries,
but accelerated if:
– A career path is available for those pushing capacity building
– Regional resources become available (language, cost of delivery,
adapted to local conditions, etc)
– Markets open as a result
– Etc.
One Resource… IFSTL
More info
http://fscf-ptin.apec.org/