Development and implementation of a methodology to assess national food safety systems in animal products

An Analysis Methodology for National Food Safety Systems (MASNIA) was developed to estimate the level of compliance with the Management System for the Surveillance and Control of Food Safety of Animal Origin in Costa Rica, which included the implementation of a multivariate diagnostic tool called Food Safety Systems Functional Assessment (ESFIA). Reproducibility (reliability) and validity (content, criterion and construct) showed acceptable levels for the statistics used in its estimation). A Prioritization Index and Level of Compliance was developed, which varied depending on the type of byproduct between the different value chains. The Total and Partial Compliance Indices showed better results in the meat input agri-food chains (especially beef and pork), dairy and beekeeping. In contrast, this did not occur with the manufacture and value chain of fishing inputs. For the general values of the Prioritization Index, a strong correlation was observed between all the proposed dependent and independent variables. The main findings show the applicability of this linear model to other countries with similar structures in their agri-food systems. The results obtained also allowed us to argue that the food safety system of animal products intended for human consumption that currently exists in Costa Rica shows opportunities for improvement, depending on the type of supply and value chain. In this sense, they must implement policies aimed at mitigating and preventing food fraud in the public and private sectors, aimed at identifying vulnerability to it. It is important to promote the development of disease burden studies and the stratification of strengthening the level of epidemiological risk. Likewise, it is crucial to encourage the development of a regulatory framework conducive to the management of paraprofessional services through the Statutory Veterinary Authority, and especially, to foster the development in the current legislation and regulatory-operational framework, of the One-Health concept (UnaSalud) to strengthen emerging risks and surveillance of antimicrobial resistance strategies.