Professor and former Director of Research at Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University Dr Iddya Karunasagar has joined the Food and Agriculture Organisation of United Nations as a Senior Fishery Industry Officer (Quality Assurance).
According to a press release, this is a senior professional position with diplomatic status and Dr Karunasagar is stationed in FAO Headquarters at Rome. He will be looking after issues of fish quality and safety in fish production and trade and will be providing technical assistance to FAO member countries in this field. He also has the responsibility of providing scientific advice to Codex Alimentarius Commission and will be playing a key role in providing technical assistance to develop a risk analysis based food safety assurance programme and harmonise the food standards with international regulations. Dr Karunasagar will also be providing technical assistance to developing countries.  FAO has used Dr Karunasagar’s expertise in the field of food safety and risk analysis even before his joining the organisation, for developing risk assessment documents and organising training programmes in developing countries. He has served as FAO expert in improving national capability in food safety assurance and risk analysis in countries like Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, Srilanka, Malaysia and Indonesia, and has offered training in rapid detection of pathogens.
Primarily involved in pathogen detection, food safety and quality control, Dr Karunasagar is the only officer from India in the Fisheries and Aquaculture department of FAO.