Capacity Building Workshops in South Asia on Safety Assessment of Genetically Engineered Foods

AFSI Newsletter - October 2023

Foods derived from modern biotechnology, whether produced locally or imported, are subject to safety assessment as per national regulations. Harmonizing these regulatory requirements is crucial for advancing research and development, permitting regional trade, and providing access to international markets. In South Asia, efforts to consider regional harmonization began at the 2014 South Asia Biosafety Conference convened in Colombo, Sri Lanka and continued informally during subsequent AFSI-organized events. In 2020, having obtained support from the United States Department of Agriculture Emerging Markets Program to work with stakeholders towards a formalized approach to regional harmonization in South Asia, AFSI constituted an eight-person Expert Working Group (EWG) comprised of two members each from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Sri Lanka, all participating in their individual capacities.

EWG Report

Consensus Document

The EWG finalized the consensus document Towards a Harmonised Approach to Food Safety Assessment of Genetically Engineered Plants and supporting appendices at the beginning of 2022. Since then, AFSI has continued to work with EWG members to introduce the document and its recommendations to relevant stakeholders in their respective countries and propose capacity-building activities driven by each country’s unique needs.

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Capacity Building in India

On September 5-6, 2023, AFSI organized a two-day technical training program on food safety assessment of genetically engineered plants in collaboration with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Biotech Consortium India Limited (BCIL). The event provided officials at FSSAI and scientists on the FSSAI GM panel with in-depth technical information aligned with the consensus approach.

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Technical Training in Bangladesh

On September 8-10, 2023, AFSI organized a three-day workshop with the Department of Environment, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of Bangladesh. The event was structured to provide risk assessors with in-depth technical information about the purpose, design, and conduct of studies to inform safety assessments of foods and feeds derived from genetically engineered plants.

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Workshop in Bhutan

AFSI is working with the Food Quality and Safety Division at the Bhutan Food and Drug Authority (BFDA) under the Ministry of Health to conduct a three-day training activity on October 9-11, 2023. A half-day outreach event for a broader audience is planned on the first day, followed by more in-depth technical capacity building for a smaller subset of regulators. Similar to the aforementioned workshops, topics covered will include the whole food safety assessment paradigm, toxicity and allergenicity testing, compositional assessment, animal feeding studies, data transportability, and risk communication.

Consensus Document

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