IFBiC CORE ACTIVITIES (OUTREACH AND EDUCATION)

Training Workshops on Safety and Risk Assessment of GM Foods and Feeds

A number of ILSI branches identified a need for dissemination of information on science-based safety and risk assessment among regulators.  In response to the branches’ requests, ILSI IFBiC helped organize workshops to address the issues surrounding the safety assessment of crops incorporating modern biotechnology. 

Southeast Asia

Four workshops were held in the ASEAN region:

• The committee, in collaboration with ILSI Southeast Asia, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Agri-food Veterinary Authority (AVA), Health Canada, and Australia-New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA), organized a Training Workshop on Safety and Risk Assessment of Agriculture-Related GMOs in July 2001, in Singapore.   Forty regulatory officials participated in the workshop. Proceedings from the workshop were published in December 2001.
• A follow-up workshop took place in August 2002, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with training provided again by Health Canada and the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) along with support from the local government and regulatory bodies. 
• The third workshop took place in August 2003 in Bangkok, Thailand, in collaboration with Health Canada and FSANZ. 
• The fourth workshop took place in August 2004 in Jakarta, Indonesia, with the additional participation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA).

A monograph to serve as a self-learning tool for the continuing education of participants and regulatory scientists who did not attend the ASEAN training workshop series will be completed by the end of 2005 and will be available on a CD-ROM.

• A workshop similar to the ones in Southeast Asia was also held in Mexico in June 2004 for the Mexican Ministry of Health and other regulators, with the training provided by Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

In all these workshops, experts shared their experience in administering the various countries’ regulations on the safety assessment of GMOs.  Participants were grouped for hands-on discussions and exercises using case studies.  Each group was guided by a facilitator and shared recommendations and findings at the end of each workshop.

Latin America

• The committee is participating in a 3-year program developed by the Organization of American States (OAS) to organize workshops for Latin American/Caribbean Region in collaboration with the U.S Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) and government agencies from the region. The goals are to implement capacity-building and training programs in risk assessment of GM foods, to disseminate scientific information to government, industry, and academia and promote networking and the development of communication mechanisms among scientists in the region.
• The 1st workshop was held in September 2004 in Panama City, and focused on the environmental and safety assessment of GM crops.  Presenters at the ILSI one-day session on the safety assessment included experts from Health Canada, EMBRAPA, and SENASA.  
• The 2nd workshop was held April 2005 in Caracas, Venezuela, and focused on detection methods for GM foods.  Speakers included experts from the Argentine Secretariat of Agriculture, Office of Biotechnology, and from SENASA. 

In 2004–2005, the committee participated in the Program for Biosafety Systems (PBS), coordinated by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and implemented by a consortium of expert organizations including ILSI, Donald Danforth Plant Sciences Center, Michigan State University, New Agri-Tech Strategies, Western Michigan University, National and sub-regional partner organizations, and CGIAR centers. The goal of these workshops is to address biosafety within a sustainable development strategy, anchored by agriculture-led economic growth, trade, environmental, and food safety issues and empower partner countries for science-based biosafety decision-making while strengthening capacity.  PBS is funded by the US Agency for International Development (AID) and Consortia members. 

The committee organized 3 workshops on GM food / feed safety in Africa in 2005, in collaboration with Health Canada, Food Safety Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), U.S. FDA, academic experts from the United Kingdom and the United States, and local regulatory experts.  The training program provided opportunities for regulatory scientists, administrators, and decision makers to learn the latest methodologies and scientific developments related to the safety assessment of biotechnology-derived foods and feeds, and to work through case studies developed by leading international experts. Participants also received hands-on experience in conducting risk assessments of biotechnology-derived foods and feeds. 

• Two back-to-back, lecture type workshops were held in Uganda (May 2-3, 2005) and Kenya (May 5-6, 2005) with the participants of host countries and Tanzania, in partnership with local institutions.  The workshops were designed for regulatory scientists involved in the safety and health risk assessments of foods within their respective member countries. 
• An advanced regional workshop on safety and risk assessment of foods and feeds derived from genetically modified plants was held in Pretoria, South Africa, October 26-28 2005. Training was provided by Health Canada, FSANZ, and representatives of regulatory agencies in the host countries. About 40 regulatory scientists from 13 African countries participated in this workshop.  Before the workshop, each participant received a CD with materials and background information. 

These workshops are central to the mission of ILSI to promote the public health through the advancement of peer-reviewed scientific investigation and application of evidence-based decision making through support of scientific research, publications, and workshops and conferences. 

The workshops served as key capacity building efforts enabling developing countries to learn from countries with significant experience in the safety assessment of biotech crops, and to establish contacts with regulatory experts.  Participants gained a better understanding of the issues involved and the approaches of different countries.  The workshops have been conducted as ‘train the trainers’ to enable participants to contribute to, and eventually hold future workshops on their own, as has occurred in Southeast Asia.

The success of this workshop series has also been demonstrated by the fact that past participants now take part in safety assessment workshops as facilitators.  They have helped in training courses held by AgBios and ISAAA.  In addition, ILSI IFBiC has been asked by OAS and IFPRI for help in organizing further workshops in this topic area.

Training Workshops on Sampling and Detection Methods for GM Foods

Background:  One of the missions of ILSI is to encourage the use of sound science in decision making.  An excellent knowledge of what detection methods can and cannot do is vital to the elucidation of workable regulations, and understanding the science of testing.  A number of ILSI branches identified a need for training in the methods that are used to detect the products of crops incorporating modern biotechnology in grain and food. 

Status:  ILSI International Food Biotechnology Committee helped organize the workshops and also contributed to the travel and lodging expenses of some of the non-governmental experts.  Both Protein-based testing (ELISA and LFS) and DNA-based methods were performed.

Workshops were held in Argentina and Brazil in 2002, two in India in October 2003, and one in China in December 2005. Each workshop consisted of a number of lectures (plenary sessions) and hands-on laboratory exercises. There were a total of 60 plenary participants each in Argentina and Brazil, 60 in each of the workshops in India, and 70 in China.  Each workshop had between 20-30 laboratory session participants.  The workshops were organized in collaboration with a number of organizations including the local ILSI branches, European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC), Government of India’s Dept. of Biotechnology, IFBiC, ITRC, CDFD, AACC International, The Analytical Excellence through Industry Collaboration (AEIC), and the China Agricultural University..

ILSI International Food Biotechnology Committee also contributed speakers at the request of ILSI Japan to the Yokohama Workshop on GMO Detection Methods, in November 2004.  This workshop featured speakers from Europe, Japan and the USA, and facilitated the exchange of knowledge of the Latest Technology for Detecting GMO in Foods.  The workshop was organized as a discussion forum, and not to develop consensus.

Impact:  The workshops acted as capacity building for government and other decision makers and instilled an understanding of the scientific principles surrounding sampling, and analysis of samples.   Participants were able to interact with experts went away with a better understanding of the processes involved of detection of biotechnology products and design of laboratories. In general, attendees found the lectures on sampling and detection methods to be very useful, and those that attended the workshop were satisfied with the training, and expect to find it helpful in the development and implementation of national regulations. They have created a cadre of persons who have knowledge of the issues and can act as a local and regional resource.

Workshop on the scientific criteria for comparability of detection methods for biotechnology derived crops with NAFTA countries.   This activity is intended to foster discussions between the regulatory agencies within NAFTA on harmonization of compliance and enforcement test methods for crops derived from modern biotechnology, develop a road map with the agencies towards science-based method harmonization approach and the potential benefits, and help agencies move towards a consensus approach to testing that can lead to a NAFTA position.  Movement towards harmonization of analytical methods within the NAFTA countries will be an important step in harmonizing methods globally, and will have a long-term value. 

Biotechnology-derived Nutritious Foods for Developing Countries:
Needs, Opportunities and Barriers

A workshop on nutritional needs in developing countries and biotechnology was held February 29–March 1, 2004, in Bali, Indonesia, as a pre-meeting to The 4th Asian Food Safety and Nutrition Conference.  This was a follow-up from the 1st workshop on the potential impact of biotechnology on food quality and nutrition for developing countries which took place in January 2002, in Cancun, Mexico.  In 2004, 45 individuals from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and the U.S. discussed the use of biotechnology to enhance nutrition in Asia.  Break-out groups discussed ideas about what nutrition issues should be addressed and how biotechnology might be used to address them. A publication with expanded abstracts of the presentations and a summary of the workshop discussions is planned for summer 2006.