Farm-to-Fork from Argentina to Zimbabwe: Using the U.S. Agroterrorism Model as a Guide for an International Regulatory Scheme to Promote Food Safety in Mass Gatherings

The importance of food safety is universal, but the current protocols are not. While most developed countries have regulations in place to protect their own citizens against possible threats to food products, many developing countries often have very limited guidelines for food safety (if they have any at all). This paper will look at the current food regulations—both domestic and international—and propose a more uniform model for international food regulations. The proposed international regulatory scheme will be styled after the “farm to fork” model found in the U.S. Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002. This regulatory system will fit within the existing United Nations (UN) and World Health Organization (WHO) frameworks and should create a simpler and more effective regulatory framework for ensuring food safety on an international scale. Increased uniformity and accountability will provide increased safety for each nation individually, but they will also improve the safety of the international community as a whole; this “international safety” is especially important for those attending mass gatherings—instances like the Olympics and the Hajj—during which many