International Incident Management

We work with international partners to:

• safeguard food entering the UK

• be at the forefront of international developments in food safety

• influence international food safety standards

This allows us to make sure that global standards protect consumers in the UK. 

In the event of a food or feed incident occurring at international level, the incidents team is responsible for the coordination of communication at an EU and international level.  This communication is done through International Food Safety Authority Network (INFOSAN) and Rapid Alert System for Food & Feed (RASFF) via the European Commission.

INFOSAN

INFOSAN is a global network of national food safety authorities. It is managed jointly by Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and World Health Organisation (WHO).

INFOSAN assists worldwide food safety authorities in managing food safety risks. It makes sure that information is shared quickly during food safety emergencies to stop the spread of contaminated food from one country to another. INFOSAN also facilitates the sharing experiences and tested solutions in and between countries to optimise future interventions to protect the health of consumers.

RASFF

RASFF is a notification system operated by the European Commission. Its purpose is to exchange information on identified hazards between Member States. It covers food, food contact materials and animal feed. This effective tool for the exchange of information helps Member States to act more quickly and in a coordinated manner in response to a safety threat.

Although the UK is no longer an active member of the EU Commission RASFF  network, we still have third country access to RASFF. FSS receives food and feed safety related information where the UK is affected by an incident.