FOOD HANDLING

With respect to cooperation in area of food handling, ASEAN had established the “ASEAN General Guidelines on the Preparation and Handling of Halal Food” in the hope of further expanding intra-ASEAN trade in meat and meat-based products.  The Guidelines was prepared based on and in line with the Association of Religious Ministers of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (MABIMS) Guidelines for Preparation of Food and Drink for Muslims and Codex General Guidelines for Use of the Term “Halal”.  The Guidelines serves as a practical guide for food industry in the production and handling of halal food for more effective presence in the regional and international market.  ASEAN, now, is working on the Accreditation Scheme  for the Halal Food Establishment.

CROPS

 To enhance productivity of agriculture produce, apart from the supply of essential nutrients to the soil, the application of other justified inputs has also resulted in significant yield increases.  This includes the application of herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, plant growth regulators, etc.  Although these agrochemicals provide numerous benefits, including the production of plentiful and economic food supply, the use of agrochemicals also can result in residues on treated food commodities that cause concerns to the consumers.  ASEAN Member Countries have, since long, given strong attention on the proper use and management of agrochemicals.  All ASEAN governments have laws and/ or regulation, through at varying forms and degrees, in control and use of pesticides.  The increasing awareness of food safety has prompted ASEAN Member Countries to undertake the harmonization of maximum residual levels (MRLs) of pesticides in agricultural produces that are being traded in the region. To date, the total number of harmonized MRLs of pesticides in vegetables and fruits, already endorsed by the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry, is 264, involving a total of 20 pesticides.

Another step forward in the regional effort to control pesticide use with the aims to improve marketability of agricultural products and prevent environmental degradation is the establishment of pesticide database and network among ASEAN Member Countries.  Through coordination of Malaysia, ASEAN website for pesticides regulatory authorities called “aseanpest” (http://agrolink.moa.my/doa/aseanpest) was established to provide a platform for sharing of information and databases as well as to allow for discussion, identification, prioritization, implementation and resolution of problems related to pesticide management. The website contains information and databases partly available to the general public, as well as some classified information and data accessible only to the regulatory authorities of ASEAN Member Countries.

LIVESTOCK

The main barriers to develop the livestock industry in the region is the presence of infectious diseases in animals.  Infections not only result in direct loss of animals but also act as an obstacle to the international trade of the animals and their products. Several diseases of economic and public health importance still afflict one and more Member Countries, including FMD, Classical Swine Fever, Newcastle Disease and Rabies. Recognizing that vaccination is the practical method to control the spread of these infectious diseases, ASEAN embarked on establishing standards for vaccines used in the livestock industry in the region to ensure that only vaccines which meet international standards for safety, efficacy, and quality are being used to protect animal health in the region. ASEAN also established several  procedures and guidance related to vaccines production which are published for the purpose of livestock industry in the region. The documents are :

• Manual  of ASEAN Standards For Animal Vaccines
• Manual of ASEAN Rules And Procedures For The Registration Of Animal Vaccines
• Manual of ASEAN Standards For Good Manufacturing Practices For Animal Vaccines
• The Manual of ASEAN Accreditation Criteria For Animal Vaccine Testing Laboratories
• Manual of ASEAN Code Of Practice For The Commercial Storage, Transportation And Handling Of Animal Vaccine
• Protocol for Accreditation of Animal Vaccines testing Laboratories in ASEAN Member Countries
• Guidance on Registration of Animal Vaccines

In order to promote international trade in livestock, especially among ASEAN Member Countries, ASEAN had established Criteria for Accreditation of Livestock Establishment for 1) Day-old Chicks and Hatching Eggs and Day-old Duck and Hatching Eggs, 2) Cattle and Buffaloes for Slaughter, 3) Cattle and Buffaloes for Breeding, and 4) Poultry for Breeding.

FISHERIES

With a view to promote sustainable aquaculture, ASEAN has developed and published the Manual on Good Shrimp Farm Management Practices, and Harmonization of Hatchery Production of Penaeus monodon (tiger prawn) in ASEAN.  Some ASEAN Member Countries have translated the manuals into their national languages for use by shrimp farmers.  In order to sustain the shrimp culture industry, ASEAN has also develop Manual on Practical Guidelines for the Development of High-health Penaeus monodon Broodstock.  The manual provides guidelines to develop a husbandry protocol for sustainable supply of high-health domesticated shrimp broodstock which is important for the shrimp aquaculture industry in the region.
ASEAN adopted the “Asia Regional Technical Guidelines on Health Management for the Responsible Movement of Live Aquatic Animals and the Beijing Consensus and Implementation Strategy” as a tool to reduce risk disease due to trans-boundary movement of live aquatic animals.  The guidelines acts as a platform for greater cooperation and implementation of aquatic animal health management measures within the region and will be utilized in a wider context to support the development of sustainable aquaculture in ASEAN.

AGRICULTURAL TRAINING AND EXTENSION

The ability of farmers to select, adapt and apply technologies has a vital role to increase the agricultural production.  ASEAN, in its efforts to educate their farmers has promoted and intensified the application of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), especially on fruits and vegetables as a comprehensive approach to improve crop quality and reduce crops losses. Development of training modules and regional trainings in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in fruits and vegetables for agricultural extension officers are being carried out by the ASEAN Member Countries. Under the title “Think IPM and Take Action”, the basic information about the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) was prepared and published to assist the extension workers to build-up and to strengthen their common understanding which is essential in their working to help the farmers.
In order to help national governments and non-governments organization in ASEAN to improve the effectiveness of the implementation of their national IPM programme, ASEAN has established ASEAN IPM Knowledge Network (http://ASEAN-IPM.searca.org). The IPM Knowledge Network is an initiative to accumulate the vast collection of knowledge capital on IPM that can be reused and shared by national IPM programmes in ASEAN region. To do this, the ASEAN IPM established an electronic IPM Knowledge Management Facility, which ensures that IPM Knowledge is available at the point of need of programme implementors and policy makers. The ASEAN IPM Centre in the Philippines acts as the Database and Network Administrator.  The Knowledge Hubs located in each ASEAN Member Countries are established and linked to the ASEAN IPM Centre. 

Biotechnology

ASEAN acknowledged the importance of the agricultural biotechnology as a tool to increase food productivity on a sustainable basis.  However, at the moment, there is a public concern on the use of biotechnology that need to be addressed by the respective authorities.  ASEAN adopted the Guidelines on the Risk Assessment of Agriculture-related Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). The Guidelines serve to provide ASEAN Member Countries with a common understanding and approach when conducting scientific evaluations for the release of agriculture-related GMOs. The Guidelines describe the procedures for notification, approval and registration of agriculture-related GMOs. The need of each ASEAN Member Country to establish its own National Authority on Genetic Manipulation (NAGM) along with the roles and responsibilities of this authority in regulating agricultural GMOs is also addressed by the Guidelines. Recognised the need to have better understanding on Genetically Modified (GM) technology and risk assessment and to enhance the capacity building in this area, ASEAN developed Public Awareness Programmes on GMOs.  Under this Programme,  Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on GMOs from ASEAN Member Countries were compiled and published for the public information.  To enhance and strengthen the capacity building, ASEAN, in collaboration with the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Southeast Asia has organized a series of training workshops on the use of the ASEAN Guidelines on Risk-Assessment of Agriculture-related GMOs for the regulators and decision makers. . Following the successful organisation of two training workshop on Safety and Risk Assessment of Agriculture-related Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, two more are planned for next year in Thailand and Indonesia in collaboration with International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) and the ASEAN Foundation