Posted 31 August 1999
The Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission - the highest international body on food standards - recently met in Rome to approve guidelines for organic food and set up task forces on standards for foods derived from biotechnology, animal feeding and fruit juices.
The latest session of FAO's Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in June 1999 endorsed moves to improve the means of assessing the conditions that create food insecurity, and the methods for monitoring and reporting progress in reducing the numbers of undernourished.
Tanzanian sheep and goat farmers may soon be able to take advantage of a new market in the Gulf States. Assisted by an FAO Technical Cooperation Project, Tanzania has taken the first steps towards establishing a meat export industry, drawing on the country's 14 million strong sheep and goat herd.
The Agro-Industries and Post-Harvest Management Service (AGSI) - one of four services of the Agricultural Support Systems Division at FAO - focuses on post production issues, promotes value-added transformation technologies and covers a broad spectrum of activities which include advising governments. Three interrelated sectors of work are covered by the Service: agro-industries; food industries; and post-harvest management.
Each year, millions of tonnes of harvested crops are lost in developing countries through inadequate handling and storage, pest damage, and transport and marketing problems. The Information Network on Post-Harvest Operations (INPhO) aims at collecting and disseminating a broad range of information on the handling and storage of specific crops and post-production technologies.
The Food and Environmental Protection Sub-Programme of the FAO/IAEA Joint Division for Nucleur Techniques in Food and Agriculture assists national food and consumer protection authorities to implement Codex Standards for food irradiation and for food contaminants, using nuclear and related biotechnological analytical methods.
FAO's Agricultural Engineering Branch (AGSE) and the International Commission of Agricultural Engineering (CIGR) have established the Global Network on Agricultural Engineering. It consists of six e-mail discussion groups (hosted on FAO's mailserver and moderated by CIGR), focusing on land and water use, farm equipment and structures, equipment engineering, rural electricity and other energy sources, systems engineering and processing.
Paltrinieri, G., F, Figuerola, L, Rojas (1997). Technical manual on small-scale processing of fruits and vegetables (FAO, Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, Santiago, Chile). JobNum: x0209e.
This manual is also available in hard copy. Please see below for details of how to order FAO publications.
How to obtain FAO publications
Please quote the ISBN or Job number, author and title. Publications (class P) and main documents (class M) are available in book form from your local Sales Agent.
Requests from countries where sales agents have not yet been appointed may be sent to: Sales and Marketing Group, FAO, Viale Delle Terme Di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.
Sales agents in all countries will establish local prices in accordance with current book trade practices. A handling fee may be charged for the documents. Member Governments of FAO may obtain priced publications and/or documents at 50 percent discount.