In 2008, almost thirteen hundred US citizens had fallen ill from Salmonella poisoning, where raw consumed tomatoes initially assumed to be the bearer of Salmonella poisoning. The food and drug administration later pointed fingers to the Mexican peppers, which were imported from Mexico. The introduction of the food poisoning produce from Mexico into the US is a sign of an increasing interdependence of the global economy, due to the increase in international travel trade, contamination from one-country leads to a crisis in other countries.
The World Trade Organization introduced treaties for the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, the (SPS Agreement), after realizing the effect of non-tariff trade barriers. The SPS agreement controls the conditions under which one current may opt to restrict trade due to health worries. The International Health Regulation (IHR) focuses much on international food safety. The IHR regulation recommends the inspection and assessment of domestic health risks. It involves high cost when implementing measure to curb food borne diseases and illness.
The first part of the article details on the current health dangers that face the universal food supply, and the danger of avian influenza and other agricultural food poisoning agents. The current issue that face the world today is issues concerning food security, which if not properly monitored can have dreadful economic and social consequences. For the US, there is a rise in threat from food contamination due to expansion of interdependence in global market among nations, like avian influenza. This is the most threatening pathogen to world food industry. There is the danger of food-based bio-terrorism, where terrorists could cease an opportunity to contaminate food supply especially for the US.
Legal Issues
There is need for a global health-monitoring infrastructure to curb natural occurence3 of infectious disease and to mitigate the effects of bioterrorism. Both the SPS and the IHR have an impact on the global food-borne disease, where the IHR’s surveillance requirements are expected to increase the likelihood of countries to detect food-based health risks. Once a threat is detected, the Agreement SPS Measures will dictate the trade-based response taken by foreign countries. This can be by limiting the importation of similar foods that spreads bacterium through consumption. This will result in temporary halt on imported food from contaminated countries.
The International Health Regulations strives to limit the widespread of disease. It has regulation on; inter alia, airports and shipping ports, container shipment, and international travel, international coordinates response and information sharing. Article 3 of the SPS Agreement on international standards presumes a nation complies with the SPS Agreement itself. These International standards consist of rules and proposals made by the Codex Alimentarius, the International Plant Protection Convection (IPPC), and OIR, or the World Organization for Animal Health, plus other standards unique to SPS committee. The IOE provides complete standards for checking animal health, including principles to lessen the risk of diseases transmission by international trade. This enforcement is through the SPS Agreement.
There are many dangers from food related infectious-disease that face the international community, and more so, the agricultural bio-terrorism. Avian influenza is just an example of such many diseases to capture the world’s awareness. As international trade continues to grow, nations’ food supplies rise in connection to other nations, with close monitoring of food products that are exchange between the nations. To accomplish the performance of the IHR, the SPS Committee should understand the IHR and SPS Agreement as well suited whenever possible.
In addition, the finding of this article has learning experience to me as a hospitality manager, since I can apply the knowledge gained from the article’s reading. It would be my responsibility to ensure that there is a committee instituted solely for checking the quality of food and beverages, if for instance in hotel management. I would ensure I protect the supply chain of food product from the supplier to the business premises, and maintaining precise records of purchase and distribution of food products. The reading will help me adapt healthy relations with government health departments for better up to date information, and allowing for transparency in the business of hospitality. Lastly, I would ensure that the working environment is always clean, thus encouraging employees to observe cleanliness more seriously.
Works Cited
Murray, Craig. "implementing the new international health regulations: the role of the."
Georgetown Journal of International Law (2009): 1-26.
