Invited by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Professor Xiao Ying from the Faculty of Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST), attended the 102nd session of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), jointly convened by FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO) from June 9 to 18, 2026.
Marking the 70th anniversary of JECFA’s establishment, this session is the first to be held in a member state city outside the headquarters of FAO and WHO. It gathered more than 40 top global experts in food safety toxicology, dietary exposure assessment and food quality specifications. Participants reviewed toxicological animal experiment data, population epidemiological research data, population dietary exposure data and product quality specifications of over 20 food additives, and formulated corresponding Health-based Guidance Values (HBGVs). The session provides a solid scientific basis for the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) and national food safety authorities to formulate and revise food safety standards, and conduct food safety risk management. Professor Xiao Ying is the only Chinese expert participating in this session.
Jointly administered by FAO and WHO, JECFA is a prestigious international expert committee in the field of global food safety, specializing in risk assessment of food additives, food contaminants and veterinary drugs. Selected as a member expert of JECFA in 2011, Professor Xiao Ying has been reappointed successively ever since.
Her research focuses on food toxicology, nutrition and food safety, as well as population dietary exposure risk assessment. She has worked at the U.S. National Center for Toxicological Research, National Institute for Nutrition and Health of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, School of Public Health of Peking University, and Centre for Food Safety of Hong Kong. She led the first Total Diet Study in Hong Kong, assessing the dietary exposure of Hong Kong adults to more than 100 chemical substances. Her participation in the 102nd JECFA session plays a positive role in introducing cutting-edge international risk assessment technologies and cultivating professional talents in food safety.
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