APEC

Food Safety Cooperation Forum

Partnership Training Institute Network

Terms of Reference

Revised: May 2011

1.Mandate

1.1. The APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum Partnership Training Institute Network (FSCF PTIN) is establishedby the Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC) and {endorsed by APEC Leaders}under the authority of the APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum (FSCF) to enlist leadership from the private sectorand academia to bring additional expertise, resources, and commitment towards fulfilling the critical food safety capacity building needs and goals identified by the FSCF.

2. Goals

2.1. The FSCF PTIN will support and assist APEC Member Economies in designing, implementing, and promoting projects that are consistent with the FSCF agreed Food Safety Capacity Building Priorities and the FSCFImplementation Plan2011-2013,as well as the priority areas identified by the PTIN Steering Group. As the network of experts expands to include morepartners from academia and industry in the APEC region, and as information exchange increases and becomes more frequent, the FSCF PTIN will serve as a resource toAPEC Member Economies on identifying needs, identifying experts, and building programs to support those needs. The FSCF PTIN work will be, at all times, complementary to and consistent with the goals of the FSCF.

2.2. The FSCF PTIN will accomplish this by:

  • Creating a food safety network in the APEC regionfocused oncore food safety management curricula;supportingthe use of international standards; andpromoting better understanding of international best practices.
  • Building on existing FSCF working relationships amongindustry and government authorities, andestablishing additional relationships with academic institutions, development banksand other intergovernmental organizations, to assist stakeholders such asregulators, growers, producers and manufacturers tobuild capacity to provide consumers with a safe supply of food and facilitate trade in food and food products;
  • Supporting the development and implementation of training sessions, seminars, and workshops on food safety, that support the use of international standards such as those developed by Codex, OIE, and IPPC, in a manner consistent with WTO obligations..
  • Developing sustainable food safety training modules.

3. FSCF PTIN Operations and Organization

3.1 FSCF PTINactivities will be open to representatives of government, industry andacademia, from APEC Member Economies as well as experts from international organizations, development banks, ,and the APEC Specialist Regional Bodies (SRBs) , and will be led by a Steering Group comprised of up to fifteen volunteer food safety experts.

3.2 The Steering Group will be Chaired by the FSCF Co-Chairs (2) and/or their respective designees, plusadditional volunteers constituted as follows:

  • Up to 4 from APEC Member economies (2 developing Member and 2 developed Member)
  • Up to 4 from academia
  • Up to 4 from industry
  • At least 1 from an SRB
  • 1 from a development bank
  • Up to 2 representatives from relevant international bodies, as appropriate, may be invited to meetings as guests, subject to normal APEC invited guest approvals for non-member APEC economies and international institutions.

3.3The Steering Group will consult and coordinate directly with the FSCFleadershipand may liaise, as needed, withAPEC Member Economies under the direction of the FSCF.

3.4 The Steering Group mayconsult with additional representatives from industry, development banks, academia, SRB’s, intergovernmental organizations, and governments, as appropriate, to provide input on FSCF PTIN activities.

3.5 The Steering Group will conduct work via e-mail, teleconference, and in-person meetings, includingmeetings on the margins of FSCF or SCSC meetings, and at other times as necessary in order to conduct its work efficiently.

3.6The responsibilitiesof the members of the Steering Group include:

  • conducting outreach, in addition to that done by the FSCF, with domestic academia and industry stakeholders concerned with food safety to draw on their expertise and engage with them on current and potential FSCF PTIN activities and training curricula;
  • building partnerships with domestic stakeholders and stakeholders in the supply chain to assess needs and deliver food safety training;
  • raising awareness of domestic capacity building priorities in the area of food safety;
  • contributing to the formulation of PTIN priorities consistent with training needs and FSCF priorities and developing training proposal concepts and projects for consideration;
  • participating in the development of a work program.

3.7 Steering Group members will also undertake to promote dissemination of FSCF PTIN materials and to encourage participation in FSCF PTIN activities on the part of interested domestic stakeholders. Steering Group members will ensure appropriate coordination and cooperation among member economies in FSCF PTIN activities.

3.8The Steering Group will be supported by a PTIN Administrator whose function will be to act as an administrative point of contact and facilitate and coordinate the work of the PTIN for the FSCF Co-Chairs by undertaking such tasks as disseminating information, coordinating meetings, and, as appropriate, conducting outreach. The PTIN Administrator will report directly to the FSCF Co-Chairs or staff acting on behalf of the Co-Chairs. The work of the PTIN Administrator may be supported by a third-party such as a representative(s) from government, industry, a development bank or academia.

3.9The PTIN reports its work to the FSCF at its formal meetings and takes advice from FSCF members.

4. Scope of Activities

4.1 The FSCF PTIN seeks tofacilitate trade and protect public health by building the capacity of stakeholders in the supply chain in the use of international standards and best practices in food safety management from production to consumption. In both the short and long term, the APEC FSCF PTIN will focus on providing expertise for the projects and priorities identified by the FSCF and APEC Member Economies. The task of initiating specific projects will remain with individual APEC Member Economies; however, the APEC FSCF PTIN will act as a common resource for all these projects and their project overseers, ensuring appropriate coordination and cooperation among project overseers and between project overseers and key stakeholders.

4.2 In the short term, the APEC FSCF PTIN will seek to establish a network of institutional expertise on food safety across government, academia, and industry in the APEC region. The APEC FSCF PTIN will provide expertise and trainers for projects and will seek to build relationships with relevant food safety organizations in APEC Member Economies. Over time, the FSCF PTIN’s activities will help build an APEC-wide network to help support the FSCF’s goals regarding managing urgent food safety issues and preventing food safety incidents. The FSCF PTIN work will be consistent with the FSCF in that it will complement and not duplicate existing activities carried out by other international or regional organizations.

4.3 The FSCF PTIN will support and assist APEC Member Economies in designing, implementing, and promoting projects and priorities consistent with the FSCF Implementation Plan2011-2013. The FSCF PTIN will serve as a resource to APEC Member Economies on identifying needs, identifying experts, and building programs to support those needs. Training modules will be developed that are scalable and reproducible, and will be available for all economies to use to strengthen their food safety systems.

4.4 The FSCF PTIN work will be consistent with the FSCF in that it will complement and not duplicate existing activities carried out by other international or regional organizations.

5. Technical Resource

5.1 The FSCF PTIN food safety network to serve as a technical resource for food safety capacity building activities in the APEC region by:

  • Assisting in the identification of food safety network experts capable of implementing food safety training programs;
  • Coordinating the development, through an open, collaborative process, of common core curricula and training modules on priority food safety topics that will be shared with interested partner institutes and APEC Member Economies;
  • Providing guidance on food safety training activities, in conjunction with individual project overseers, at established partner and/or newly established partner institutes across the APEC region;
  • Facilitating the involvement of academic and industry experts and recruit trainers and trainees for specific projects;
  • Developing capacity building tools and resources and utilizing technology to deliver these tools to make them openly available to stakeholders in the region;
  • Encouraging the adoption of a common approach to food safety management in APEC Member Economies that supports the use of international standards and promotes improved understanding of international best practices; and
  • Assisting the FSCF in identifying capacity building needs using its network of expertise.

5.2FSCF member economies are encouraged to draw upon the expertise available through the FSCF PTIN network in developing food safety projects. APEC Member Economies are encouraged to submit projects consistent with FSCF and PTIN priorities and draw upon the PTIN Network as a resource in this regard.

5.3Food safety capacity building project proposals will continue to be submitted by APEC Member Economies, viathe FSCF available for consultation and endorsement with regard to consistency with the FSCF agreed Food Safety Capacity Building Priorities, and ranked by the SCSC for submission to the APEC Budget Management Committee for funding approval.

5.4The FSCF PTIN may also collaborate on projects that draw funding from other sources.

6. Communication and Outreach

6.1 The work program and progress of the FSCF PTIN will be reported by the FSCF to the SCSC as part of the normal FSCF reporting procedures, and where appropriate, to APEC Senior Officials.

6.2 The FSCF PTIN will facilitate collaboration, promote dissemination of FSCF PTIN materials and encourage participation in FSCF PTIN activities on the part of interested stakeholders to build the national food safety capacity of participating APEC Member Economies.

6.3 A web site will serve to widely promote the activities and training resources of the FSCF PTIN

6.4 The FSCF PTIN’s Administrator, as the administrative point of contact and based on guidance from the FSCF Co-Chairs and the Steering Group, will maintain a communication and outreach function that will 1) engage and inform interested stakeholders to contribute to APEC food safety capacity building activities; 2) promote the work and training resources of the PTIN through a web site, and 3) identify academic and industry points of contact willing to be partners in program development and training.

7. Review of the Mandate and Terms

The mandate and terms of reference of the FSCF PTIN shall be subject to review by the FSCF on a regular basis.