International Life Sciences Institute

This article is part of the Foodspin project of Spinwatch.

The International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) specialises in lobbying national and international agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Membership

Its membership consists of 400 of 'the world's leading manufacturers of food and food ingredients, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and other consumer products'. ILSI Europe's members include:

Ajinomoto Europe | Akzo Nobel Functional Chemicals | Barilla G.& R. Fratelli | BASF | Bayer CropScience BioScience | Beverages Partners Worldwide | bioMérieux Industry | Campbell Soup | Campina | Cargill | Cereal Partners Worldwide | Coca-Cola European Union Group | Colloïdes Naturels International | Cosucra Groupe | CSM | Danisco | Dow Europe | DSM | DuPont | Firmenich | Friesland Foods | Frutarom | Givaudan | Groupe Danone | H J Heinz | Kellogg | Kraft Foods | La Morella Nuts | Lipid Nutrition | L’Oréal | Mars | McDonald's Europe | McNeil Nutritionals | Mead Johnson Nutritionals | Monsanto Europe-Africa | National Starch Food Innovation | Nestlé | Novozymes | PepsiCo International | Procter & Gamble | Raisio | Red Bull | RHM Technology | Roquette Frères | Royal Numico | Sensus | Seven Seas | Südzucker/BENEO Group | Swiss Quality Testing Services | Syral | Tate & Lyle Speciality Sweeteners | Tetra Pak Research | Ülker Bisküvi | Unilever | Valio | Veolia Environment | Wild Flavors | Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods | Wrigley | Yakult Europe

Contact details

Contact details One Thomas Circle, NW 9the Floor Washington, DC 20005 – 5802 USA

Tel 00 1 202 659 0074 Fax 00 1 202 659 3859

e-mail ilsi@ilsi.org

Structure

ILSI contains two main divisions

ILSI, International Food Biotechnology Committee(IFBiC) ILSI, International Organization Committee(IOC)

ILSI International Food Biotechnology Committee(IFBiC) IFBiC was established in 1997 to support the development and harminisation of science based regulations around the world for biotechnology-derived food products and to disseminate science-based information regarding the safety assessment of these products to governments, industry, academia, and other interested groups around the world. This committee was formed based on the needs of ILSI members and the critical roles that ILSI played in the development of two reports.

• A 1990 Report entitled "Biotechnologies and Food: Assuring the Safety of Foods Produced by Genetic Modification" published in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, a collaboration with the International Food Biotechnology Council, which was the first comprehensive guidance document on the food safety assessment for foods derived from biotechnology.

• A series of reports published in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition under the leadership of the ILSI Allergy and Immunology Institute (AII), which provided gudance for the assessing the allergenic potential of foods derived from Biotechnology.^[1]

ILSI International Organization Committee(IOC) The IOC recommends and implements programmes of interest to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO). ILSI is a recognised nongovernmental organisation by WHO and has specialised consultatative status with FAO.^[2]

ILSI's status with WHO Downgraded Following Protests

In late January 2006 the World Health Organization decided that ILSI "can no longer take part in WHO activities setting microbiological or chemical standards for food and water, the U.N. health agency's executive board decided Friday in Geneva, Switzerland." However, it remains one of the NGOs with accreditation as an observer at WHO meetings.

The downgrading of ILSI's status followed a letter protesting ILSI's role in setting standards from the Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Working Group, United Steelworkers of America and a coalition of other groups.

ILSI publications

ILSI Assembly of members, 2002.

External links

1. Sarah Boseley 'WHO "infiltrated by food industry"' The Guardian Thursday January 9, 2003
2. Sarah Boseley 'Sugar industry threatens to scupper WHO' The Guardian Monday April 21, 2003
3. Sarah Boseley 'WHO 'buried' report to please food industry' The Guardian Wednesday November 3, 2004
4. Liam McDougall, 'Sugar Wars; Obesity is a global crisis and at its heart is our love of sugary food' Sunday Herald, Feb 29, 2004.

Notes

1. ^http://www.ilsi.org/AboutILSI/IFBIC/
2. ^http://www.ilsi.org/AboutILSI/IOC/
3. ^John Helperin, "WHO to Rely Less on U.S. Research", Washington Post, January 27, 2006.