Christine Boisrobert

The Global Harmonization Initiative

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the global harmonization initiative (GHI). GHI anticipates that while developing global consensus on the science of food regulations and legislation will help narrow regulatory differences, it may also help focus food safety research on areas, where supportive scientific evidence is currently lacking. Elimination of regulatory discrepancies will reduce and hopefully in time prevent the undue destruction of food. Furthermore, it will make it more attractive for the private sector to invest in food safety research and development, consequently strengthening the competitiveness of each nations food industry and of the industries supplying the food sector. Harmonizing global regulations will aid in the uptake and application of new technologies as well as encourage the food industry to invest in new tools to enhance the safety, availability, and quality of the food supply for consumers worldwide. While global harmonization of food safety regulations is a definite challenge to the twenty-first century, it has now become an overriding necessity in an era of rapid globalization.