A child gets sick after a family meal. A processor in a coastal city waits for veterinary clearance that never arrives. A researcher in a small lab struggles to get her findings into the hands of the people who set rules. Those scenes are quiet reminders of why food safety matters. At the FAO Science and Innovation Forum 2025, the Regional Food Safety Research and Innovation Network, or RFSRIN, was launched to tackle those human moments with science, technology and stronger collaboration.
From vision to a working network
The RFSRIN was unveiled during a regional session titled Science and Innovation Driving Food Safety – From Vision to Network at the FAO Science and Innovation Forum 2025. It is designed as a practical platform that links laboratories, research institutions, regulatory bodies and private sector innovators across the Near East and North Africa region. The idea is simple but powerful: connect people who produce evidence with those who legislate and those who implement, so technical advances become safer food on the table faster.
Why the region needs a network
The NENA region faces a knot of pressures that make food safety complicated. Water scarcity, climate change, rapid urbanization and heavier reliance on global supply chains all increase the chances that food becomes contaminated or that surveillance misses a hazard. These conditions contribute to a heavy burden of foodborne disease that costs lives, livelihoods and public trust. Turning isolated studies and pilot projects into region-wide practices requires shared data, shared standards and a trusted route for innovation to be tested and scaled.
Innovation with responsibility
In her keynote, Masami Takeuchi, FAO Food Safety Officer, made the case that new technologies will change how the world thinks about food safety. She highlighted FAO work on cell-based foods, precision fermentation, modern indoor farming, artificial intelligence for food safety and whole genome sequencing. But her message was clear: innovation must be evidence-based, transparent and built with public trust in mind. Science without accountability will not protect consumers.
A network of networks
Participants at the launch stressed that the RFSRIN should not be a single, central hub but a network of networks that stitches together national labs, university research groups, private testing facilities and policy platforms. That structure is intended to speed up the flow of information: early warnings from a surveillance lab in one country could quickly prompt joint investigations, harmonized testing protocols and coordinated public health responses across borders. It is also a deliberate attempt to make research actionable so that evidence turns into standards, and standards turn into safer food everywhere in the region.
From hackathons to regulation
FAO RNE has already started practical steps to seed innovation. The regional Hack4SaferPlates initiative held in Riyadh in September brought together developers, policymakers and scientists to prototype AI- and technology-based food safety solutions, with winning teams offered incubation and pathways to scale. Events like this are part of a broader push to ensure the network is not purely academic but actively supports tools and technologies that regulators and industry can adopt. FAOHome+1
A science-backed map of needs
To guide the network, FAO RNE issued a technical report mapping the region’s food safety and quality landscape using the One Health and DPSIR frameworks. That mapping helps stakeholders see where pressures start, what drives risk, and where interventions will deliver the most public health benefit. With a clear diagnostic of drivers and weak points, the network can prioritize capacity gaps such as laboratory upgrades, data systems, and harmonized veterinary certification.
What success looks like
Success for RFSRIN will not be a glossy brochure. It will be fewer outbreaks, faster recalls, harmonized standards that let exporters meet importing countries requirements, and communities that trust the food they buy. It will mean a small processor in the region can access a shared protocol and secure a market overseas because the network helped obtain the right certification and testing at scale. It will mean innovations like WGS or AI do not sit on hard drives but become routine tools in day-to-day food safety work.
The human test
Networks are only as good as the people who keep them alive. For farmers, processors, regulators and consumers, the promise is practical: better-tested food, clearer rules and faster, science-backed responses when things go wrong. For researchers, the promise is access to real-world problems and a route to policy impact. For governments, the promise is stronger public health with data to guide choices. That human test will be the real measure of RFSRIN’s value.
FAO’s RFSRIN is a grounded, pragmatic response to a complex problem. Building trust across institutions and borders will take time and resources. But if the network delivers on its ambition to translate science into safer food and resilient systems, the Near East and North Africa will have a living example of how collaboration and innovation keep people healthier and economies stronger.
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