The food control system in Saudi Arabia - Centralizing food control activities

Today, many governments have chosen to centralize their food control systems as a means to improve effectiveness and efficiency. There has been a growing tendency to improve the national administrative framework for food control by establishing a primary authority to oversee the whole food chain from farm to fork. International Organizations have worked to assist food control authorities in reviewing and adjusting their national regulatory frameworks for food, supporting at many times, the centralization of food-related activities and suggesting that a self-contained structure would best serve the goals of integration and a food chain approach to food safety while eliminating inconsistencies and gaps. Based on international guidance, this study analyses and evaluates the centralization of the food control system in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Government moved towards the centralization of its food control activities, restructuring institutions to establish the Saudi Food and Drug Authority as an independent administration to coordinate and iinplement all activities related to food control. An examination of the advantages and challenges of reforming and streamlining food control activities are included. The internal Strengths and Weaknesses, as well as the external Opportunities and Threats that the Government is facing towards centralization have been identified. The study demonstrates how significant progress has been made and highlights areas where continuous efforts are still needed. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.