SPS Committee
thematic sESSION on emerging risks and
new agricultural technologies to address them
MONday, 11 NOVEMBER 2024
WTO,
CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD, GENEVA AND ZOOM
PROGRAMME[1]
Revision
1. The SPS Committee is holding a thematic
session on SPS-related emerging risks and new agricultural technologies, based
on a joint proposal submitted by Canada and the European Union[2] in the context of the Sixth Review of the Operation and Implementation of the SPS Agreement. This thematic session builds on the productive discussions held
as part of the work conducted under the MC12 SPS Declaration on Responding to Modern SPS Challenges (MC12 SPS Declaration Work Programme) and will explore Members' experiences, best practices, successes, and
challenges associated with emerging risks and new agricultural technologies
that can help address them.
2. The thematic session will shed
light on two main topics:
a._
ways to define, identify, and characterize SPS-related emerging risks that
pose a threat to food safety, human, plant or animal life or health; and
b._
the development and implementation of new agricultural technologies to
address emerging risks and the barriers to their successful implementation.
3. As a follow-up to this event, the
SPS Committee is planning another thematic session in March 2025 to
discuss different regulatory approaches used by Members to mitigate SPS-related
emerging risks.
4. The thematic session will be held
in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday, 11 November 2024, from 10:00 to 13:00 (CET),
continuing in the afternoon from 15:00 to 18:00 (CET). The thematic session can
also be attended virtually on Zoom with WTO credentials using this link. Interpretation will be provided in English, French, and Spanish.
5. The event will be livestreamed
(with the exception of the wrap-up session with participation from the audience):
https://youtube.com/live/tL55GT2U-jk?feature=share.
6. More information is available on the thematic session's dedicated
webpage https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/sps_e/sps_11112024_e/sps_11112024_e.htm.
Moderator: Ms Cecilia Risolo, Chairperson of the SPS Committee
MORNING SESSION (10:00 – 13:00 CET)
Opening session (15 mins)
·_
Opening remarks by Ms Cecilia Risolo, Chairperson of
the SPS Committee
·_
Ms Camille
Fléchet,
SPS Team, WTO Secretariat. Setting the scene
Session 1 – Emerging risks
This
session will discuss initiatives and structures for the definition,
identification, and characterization of emerging risks that pose a threat to
food safety, human, plant, or animal life or health, with international
organizations, Members, and other stakeholders sharing their views and
experiences.
International organizations (50 mins). Representatives from international
organizations will provide an overview of their work relating to the identification
of SPS-related emerging risks and ways to address them.
·_
Dr Vittorio Fattori, Food Safety Officer, Agrifood Systems
and Food Safety Division, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). FAO food safety foresight programme and
emerging issues
·_
Dr Ryan Newkirk,
Technical Officer, Multisectoral Action in Food
Systems (AFS), Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, World Health Organization (WHO). WHO Global Strategy for Food
Safety 2022-2030 and WHO/FAO international food
safety authorities' network (INFOSAN)
·_
Mr Paolo Tizzani,
Senior Veterinary Epidemiologist, Data Integration Department, World Organization for Animal Health
(WOAH). WOAH epidemic intelligence
activities to identify, assess, communicate on emerging animal health threats,
and activities to address them
Followed
by Q&A session
Members, industry representatives and academia (1h50). Speakers will share their
experiences developing policies and/or tools for the identification and
communication of emerging risks and how different technologies have been
implemented to address emerging risks.
·_
Mr Milen Georgiev, Scientific Officer, and Mr Bernard Bottex, Team Leader Explore, Knowledge,
Innovation and Partnership Management Unit, European
Food Safety Authority (EFSA), European Union. EFSA's emerging risks analysis system
·_
Dr Akira Otuka, Principal Researcher, Migratory Insect Pests
and Advanced Control Technology Group, Division of Core Technology for Pest
Control Research, Institute for Plant Protection, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Japan. Change in
migration pattern of the oriental fruit fly arriving in Japan
·_
Dr Hung-Jen Liao, Senior Executive Officer, Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Agency, Chinese Taipei. Experience in management of cross-border e-commerce as an emerging SPS challenge
·_
Dr Benignus Valentine Ngowi, Director, Plant Biosecurity, Tanzania Plant
Health and Pesticides Authority, Tanzania
·_
Ms Lis Alban, Chief Scientist / Adjunct
Professor, Danish Agriculture & Food Council, Member of EFSA Stakeholder Discussion Group on Emerging Risk. African swine fever – An emerging risk for the
Danish pig industry
·_
Dr Ashwani Tiwari, DVM PhD Lead, Advanced Data
Analytics & Risk Modelling, Food Science Advice and Intelligence Division, Science
Branch, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Canada. Risk modelling in imported foods (Food Import Risk
Explorer (FIRE) model)
Followed
by Q&A session
AFTERNOON SESSION (15:00 – 18:00 CET)
Session 2 – New agricultural technologies
(2h30)
This
session will be dedicated to sharing experiences with the development and
implementation of new agricultural technologies, including the approval of
products produced using new agricultural technologies. The session builds on
the June
2024 Thematic Session on Digital Tools and
gives consideration to the experiences or challenges of developing and LDC
Members in the adoption and application of new technologies or innovations to
address emerging risks.
·_
Dr Nick Van Beest, Principal
Research Scientist / Team Leader, Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia. Regulation
technology to support the shift to automated compliance to enhance trade
facilitation
·_
Dr Daisuke Takamatsu, Leader of Bacteria
Group, Division
of Infectious Animal Disease Research, National Agriculture and Food
Research Organization, Japan. Development
of methods for detecting pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes in honey:
Toward the appropriate use of antibiotics in apiaries
·_
Dr Yan-Fu
Kuo, Professor, Department of
Biomechatronics Engineering, "National
Taiwan University", Chinese Taipei. Identifying
tomato diseases, pests, and disorders by using AI machine vision
Followed
by Q&A session
·_
Ms Rosina Leicht Ziegler,
Manager of the Digital Media Monitoring and Control Programme, National Service for Agri-Food
Health and Quality (SENASA), Argentina. Challenges of supervising e-commerce
·_
Mr Peter
Creaser,
Minister Counsellor (Agriculture), Australian Embassy to Belgium and
Luxembourg, Department
of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Australia. Irradiation, an alternative phytosanitary treatment
in a rapidly evolving global environment
·_
Dr Stuart Smyth, Professor, Department
of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
How innovative agricultural technology is
being used to address emerging risks
·_
Mr Adiel Rodrigo Cayo León, Phytosanitary Intelligence Section Manager, Plant Health
Department, Agriculture and Livestock Service
(SAG) , Ministry of Agriculture, Chile. Sanitary
intelligence: Chilean experience in a holistic concept to improve
management, technology, and innovation in a framework of increasing
phytosanitary and zoo-sanitary risks worldwide
·_
Dr Kim
Stackhouse-Lawson, Director of AgNext at Colorado State University, United States. New technologies in animal production
·_
Dr Kenneth E. Narva, Head
of Insecticides, Research Fellow, GreenLight
Biosciences, United States. RNAi-based
approaches to pest management in agricultural production systems
Followed
by Q&A session
Session 3 – Wrap-up session with
participation from the audience (30 mins)
The Chairperson of the Committee will
invite participants to exchange views on issues highlighted in the previous
sessions and explore the role of the SPS Committee in taking the discussion
forward.
Preliminary guiding
questions for the audience:
·_
What are your main takeaways from today? Are
there any special considerations for developing and LDC Members that have been
highlighted by the speakers?
·_
How do today's discussions
pave the way for the March 2025 thematic session?
·_
How can the SPS Committee
best contribute to future initiatives and discussions on emerging risks and
relevant new technologies?
__________
[1] This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own
responsibility and is without prejudice to the positions of Members or to their
rights and obligations under the WTO.