Global Environment Monitoring System - Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment Programme (GEMS/Food)
Introduction to GEMS/Food
Since 1976, the Global Environment Monitoring System - Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment Programme, which is commonly known as GEMS/Food, has informed governments, the Codex Alimentarius Commission and other relevant institutions, as well as the public, on levels and trends of contaminants in food, their contribution to total human exposure, and significance with regard to public health and trade. The programme is implemented by the WHO in cooperation with a network of more than 30 WHO Collaborating Centres and recognized national institutions located all around the world.
The GEMS/Food programme also involves national experts in more than 100 countries working to collect and to analyse data and information to support the food risk assessment process.
Several important streams of data related to food consumption and food contamination are included in GEMS/Food:
- Per capita food consumption: A list of the WHO 13 cluster diets has been created to cover the average food consumption in 13 regions of the world. This information serves as a basis for assessing the long term exposure to chemical hazards from food, but can also be used for other purposes like nutritional evaluation.
- Individual food consumption: Table that compiles individual levels of food consumption for average and high consumers based on national surveys. This information is used mainly to assess exposure to food chemical presenting a potential acute risk for human health.
- Concentration of chemicals in food: Database on the level of chemicals in raw food commodities as well as in food as consumed by final consumer.
Food contamination monitoring is an essential component of assuring the safety of food supplies and managing health risks at the international level. The GEMS/Food database is open to Competent Authorities to submit and share their data on food surveillance and monitoring.
Data is checked for consistency and completeness before being accepted by WHO and as such, GEMS/Food provides reliable information on hazard identification for setting priorities for Codex consideration.
Within the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the chemical contamination of food is addressed by the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA), the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (CCCF) and the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR). Risk management decisions are highly dependent on comparable and reliable exposure assessments and GEMS/Food has provided assistance on a range of chemical issues to CCFAC and CCPR as well as to their scientific advisory bodies, namely JECFA and JMPR.