Four new trade topics were discussed at the latest World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting on food safety.

Attendees at the June meeting of the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures addressed trade concerns related to food safety and animal and plant health.

Members raised 56 specific trade concerns (STCs), including four for the first time.

New STCs related to uncertainty regarding coffee beans imports into China; Thailand’s regulation to mitigate aflatoxins in peanut kernels and ban imports of aquaculture shrimp; and Vietnam’s procedure for listing exporting establishments.

India raised the two issues involving Thailand while the European unio and United States were behind the trade concern about Vietnam.

Japan again called on countries to remove import restrictions on Japanese food products related to Fukushima and the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) treated water situation. China, Hong Kong and Russia have such measures in place.

China spoke about U.S. FDA import alert 99-30 related to detention of milk products and melamine testing.

Other previously mentioned topics included maximum residue limits of pesticides in Europe, Thailand’s suspension of exports of beef and edible offal from Brazil, and EU delays in renewing authorizations for fishery firms and fish products from Russia.

Supporting developing countries
In May, the Netherlands committed CHF 1.3 million ($1.6 million) to help developing economies enhance their sanitary and phytosanitary capacities.

The money will enable countries to strengthen compliance with international food safety, animal, and plant health standards, and will be distributed over two years, starting later in 2025.

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said: “By focusing on SPS improvements in developing economies, the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) addresses concrete trade and development and sustainability issues that cross borders and directly impact people’s wellbeing and the environment.” 

STDF will use the funding to pilot SPS capacity development projects across developing economies, including LDCs and small island developing states.

Mark Jacobs, director for International Trade Policy and Market Regulation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, said: “Many developing countries are among our closest trading partners. Food safety systems contribute to mutual trust and are crucial for sustainable trade relations in agrifood. Therefore, we highly value the support that the STDF provides to fostering safe food trade in and between developing countries.”

STDF also recently published its annual report. In 2024, the program made progress in enhancing SPS measures across 11 countries and supporting related legislative, regulatory, and policy changes in 19 countries.

Highlights include a spices project in India that improved safety and quality, enabling more than 80 percent of tested spices to meet Codex Alimentarius maximum residue limits for increased access to premium markets.

In Guinea, a project strengthened the country’s phytosanitary system, securing mango export approval for the EU market and increasing potato production, which opened new opportunities for agricultural exports to regional and international markets.