Exploring the Experiences of Members of the International Food Safety Authorities Network: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

ABSTRACT: The International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) is a global network of national food safety authorities from 190 countries, managed jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) that aims to facilitate the rapid exchange of information during food safety incidents. A three-phase study of INFOSAN was launched in 2019 to characterize and examine the network as a functional community of practice and determine its value systematically and rigorously from its members' perspectives. The first two phases of the study involved analyzing the INFOSAN Community Website and surveying of all of its members. The main objective of this third and final phase of the study was to understand the experiences of a small group of INFOSAN members as they relate to various dimensions of membership. A qualitative methodology was used to provide a deeper understanding of members' experiences and supplement the results from the first two quantitative study phases. Interviews were conducted with 10 INFOSAN members from 10 geographic regions, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The results offer an understanding of INFOSAN members' experiences in the context of what participation in this global network means to them and relate to five themes concerning trust, learning, health protection, sense of community, and future potential. The findings suggest that focusing on outreach to sustain personal interest, training to improve technical capacity, and advocacy to obtain political buy-in are ways in which the INFOSAN Secretariat could enable participation and create value at the individual, organizational, and national level, respectively. Such engagement could translate into more effective international communication during urgent food safety incidents and fewer cases of foodborne illness worldwide.

The utilisation of tools to facilitate cross-border communication during international food safety events, 1995-2020: a realist synthesis.

Efficient communication and coordination are needed between countries to prevent, detect and respond to international food safety events. While communication tools, networks and systems exist, current evidence suggests that they are only useful within particular contexts and several only target specific geographic areas. There is a need to unpack and explore the mechanisms of how and in what context such communication tools and their components are effective at facilitating international communication and coordination to keep food safe and mitigate the burden of foodborne disease around the world.A realist synthesis was undertaken to understand how and why certain processes and structures of communication tools, used during international food safety events, influence their utility and effectiveness according to different contextual factors. The focus of this review was explanatory and aimed to develop and refine theory regarding how contextual factors trigger specific processes and mechanisms to produce outcomes. Using the realist context-mechanism-outcome configuration of theory development, a range of sources was used to develop an initial programme theory, including the authors' experience, a scoping review of published papers and grey literature and input from an expert reference committee. Literature was then systematically located and synthesised from several databases with input from the expert reference committee to refine the programme theory.The programme theory developed indicates that when a country has interests in food import or export, has the technical infrastructure to detect and respond to food safety events, and is governed in accordance with regional and/or global laws and regulations relating to food control and global health security, then specific mechanisms will facilitate various outcomes. Mechanisms include trust, experience, support, awareness, understanding, a sense of community, standardisation and intersectoral collaboration. The outcomes include using communication tools to relay information abroad and the prevention of foodborne diseases, among others.Components of such communication tools may be adapted according to different contextual factors to promote, support and improve their use. Improving international coordination and communication during international food safety events is in the interest of global health security and can mitigate the global burden of foodborne disease.

Exploring the International Food Safety Authorities Network as a Community of Practice: Results from a Global Survey of Network Members.

ABSTRACT: The International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) is a global network of national food safety authorities from 190 countries, managed jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization, which facilitates the rapid exchange of information during food safety incidents. Until now, INFOSAN has not been characterized or examined as a functional community of practice, and its value, as understood from the perspective of its members, has not been determined in a systematic or rigorous way. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences and opinions of INFOSAN members to better understand the role of the network in improving food safety and mitigating the burden of foodborne illness globally. There were four main research questions: (i) How is the INFOSAN Community Website being used to support network activities? (ii) What are the barriers to active participation in INFOSAN? (iii) Do INFOSAN members believe that participation in the network prevents foodborne illness and saves lives? and (iv) Does participation in INFOSAN create value for members, and if so, through what mechanisms does this occur? To answer these questions, an online questionnaire was developed and adapted from English into French and Spanish before being disseminated to INFOSAN members. Responses were received from 239 INFOSAN members in 137 countries over a 10-week period between August and October 2019. This study represents the first to explore and describe the experiences of INFOSAN members with respect to their participation in network activities to improve global food safety and prevent foodborne diseases and to describe the characteristics of INFOSAN as a community of practice. The results suggest that INFOSAN is a valued tool, used globally to reduce the burden of foodborne illness and save lives. The INFOSAN Secretariat could use the results to prioritize future activities to further strengthen the network and support participation of members.

Looking Inside the International Food Safety Authorities Network Community Website.

ABSTRACT: The International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) was launched in 2004 by the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Since then, this global network has aimed to halt the international spread of contaminated food, prevent foodborne disease outbreaks, and strengthen food safety systems globally to reduce the burden of foodborne illness. However, INFOSAN has never been examined as a functional community of practice and its value, according to members, has not been determined in a systematic or rigorous way. A three-phased, mixed-method study has explored the experiences of INFOSAN members with respect to their participation in collaborative network activities to improve global food safety and prevent foodborne illness. Results from phase 1 of this study are discussed here and relate to how the INFOSAN Community Website (ICW) is being used to support network activities. Overall, the descriptive analysis indicates that a small number of active INFOSAN members contribute most of information shared on the ICW. A much larger group of members participates passively, logging on to the site, reading content, but not sharing new information. Four hundred eighty-two food safety incidents are documented on the ICW, the majority of which have been caused by bacterial contamination, most commonly Salmonella enterica. The results from phase 1 of this study provide objective, foundational information about engagement of all members and were used to propose new ways to improve the ICW. Integration of these results with results from phases 2 and 3 will help determine whether and how members' reported attitudes and experiences reflect their online behaviors. This information can be used by the INFOSAN Secretariat to increase active participation and improve international information exchange to mitigate the impact of food safety emergencies and prevent foodborne diseases globally.

Utilisation of tools to facilitate cross-border communication during international food safety events, 1995-2019: a realist synthesis protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Efficient communication and coordination between countries is needed for prevention, detection and response to international food safety events. While communication tools exist, current evidence suggests that they are only effective within certain contexts and only cover certain geographic areas. There is a need to unpack and explore the mechanisms of how and in what context such communication tools and their components are effective at facilitating international communication and coordination to keep food safe and mitigate the burden of foodborne disease around the globe. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A realist synthesis will be undertaken to understand how and why certain processes and structures of communication tools, used during international food safety events, influence their utility and effectiveness according to different contextual factors. The focus of this review is explanatory and aims to develop and refine theory regarding how contextual factors trigger specific processes and mechanisms to produce outcomes. Using the realist context-mechanism-outcome configuration of theory development, a range of sources have been used to develop the initial programme theory, including the author's experience, a scoping review of published papers and grey literature and input from an expert reference committee. To support, expand or refute the initial theory, data will be synthesised from published literature and input from the expert reference committee. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval is not required for this review as it does not involve primary research. However, it will be conducted according to the appropriate ethical standards of accuracy, utility, usefulness, accountability, feasibility and propriety. The RAMESES publication standards will be followed to report the findings of this review. On completion, the final manuscript will be shared with members of the FAO/WHO International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) and published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Global perspectives on food fraud: results from a WHO survey of members of the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN).

This survey of International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) members regarding food fraud prevention, management, education, and information sharing included 166 WHO member states that resulted in 175 responses. The respondents engage in food fraud prevention (70%) or are responsible for food fraud incident response (74%). Nearly all respondents acknowledged a desire for more guidance and information on best practices in managing the full range of "food safety events involving food fraud" (97%), but also for prevention of such events (97%), indicating a need to provide technical support beyond acute incident response. The scope of food fraud covered in the survey comprised the full range of fraudulent activities, including the addition of adulterant-substances, tampering (including mislabeling), theft, smuggling, gray market/diversion, and counterfeiting (intellectual property rights). Key needs included: capacity-building/education; a platform for information sharing; and utilization of INFOSAN as an interagency/intergovernmental collaboration point.

A mixed-method exploration into the experience of members of the FAO/WHO International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN): study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: The International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) is a global network of national food safety authorities from 188 countries, managed jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), which facilitates the rapid exchange of information during food safety related events. The proposed research will interrogate INFOSAN in order to describe and explore the experiences of members and better understand the role of the network in mitigating the burden of foodborne illness around the world. METHODS: Examined through a community of practice lens, a three-phase research design will combine quantitative and qualitative methods (including website analytics in phase 1, online survey administration in phase 2 and semistructured interviews in phase 3) to elicit a broad and deep understanding of the network operation and member experiences. ANALYSIS: In phases 1 and 2, quantitative data collected from the INFOSAN Community website and the online questionnaires will be analysed using descriptive summary statistics. In phase 3, interpretative phenomenological analysis will be used to engage in a dialogue with study participants to explore and describe their lived experiences regarding participation in activities related to INFOSAN. An important aspect of the overall analysis will be triangulation of the information collected from each phase, including quantitative indicators and qualitative value stories, in order to provide a robust understanding of member experience. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study has undergone ethical review and has received approval from Lancaster University's Faculty of Health and Medicine Research Ethics Committee, as well as the ethics review committee of the WHO. Findings from the study will be disseminated as a PhD thesis submitted to Lancaster University. In addition, results of the research shall be submitted for publication to relevant academic or professional conferences and journals or other media, including books or websites.

The FAO/WHO International Food Safety Authorities Network in Review, 2004-2018: Learning from the Past and Looking to the Future.

Contemporary patterns of global food trade necessitate cross-border communication between government authorities when unsafe food enters international commerce. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN), established in 2004, facilitates urgent communication between >600 members from 188 of the 194 FAO and WHO Member States around the world and supports the strengthening of food safety systems in an effort to mitigate the global burden of foodborne disease. For nearly 15 years, INFOSAN has been operating as a global, virtual community of practice (CoP), fostering knowledge transfer and exchange between members, and enabling crucial international communication during food safety emergencies. During this time, a number of important partnerships have been forged, including with other networks like PulseNet International. Complementarity, and cooperation between global networks like INFOSAN and PulseNet is vital to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of global efforts to curb foodborne illness. Since 2011, detailed data related to the patterns of information exchange during 293 food safety emergencies communicated through INFOSAN have been documented systematically. An analysis of these data reveals that a relatively limited number of active members from a select group of Member States contribute the majority of information exchanged through the network. For example, nine (5%) Member States were each involved in 24 or more food safety events communicated through INFOSAN between 2011 and 2017, whereas 123 (65%) Member States were involved in three events or less, including 36 (19%) involved in none. These data also demonstrate that although the overall responsiveness of members during emergencies has improved in recent years, impediments to rapid and efficient information sharing still persist. A number of potential barriers to active participation in INFOSAN have been hypothesized, but members themselves have not been conferred with on their relative importance. As a member-driven network, future research to investigate the experiences of INFOSAN members in a rigorous and systematic manner is recommended. Such work could illuminate the specific areas in which to introduce operational shifts by the INFOSAN Secretariat, to strengthen the global CoP, increase the value of INFOSAN among members, and have a robust and meaningful impact at country level to reduce the burden of foodborne disease globally.