Crisis preparedness exercise on food and feed for IPA beneficiaries

Abstract The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) organises crisis preparedness training events for the IPA countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye) as part of the framework of the Preparatory measures for the participation of IPA beneficiaries in the European Food Safety Authority activities. For 2025, EFSA developed and organised a crisis‐preparedness workshop on animal health area with specific attention to Peste de Petit Ruminants (PPR) in hypothetical scenario resembling the IPA countries, arranging a simulation exercise focused on a multi‐country incident related to biological risks in products of animal origin. The overall objectives of the training were: 1) to increase IPA countries’ knowledge and understanding of crisis handling concepts and specifically of EFSA's crisis handling procedures; 2) to improve preparedness and response planning for crisis situations in the domain of animal health through testing procedures in place at national (contingency plans) and EU level (e.g. the crisis general plan) and crisis handling procedures, helping IPA countries address crisis‐preparedness needs and reduce time for action; 3) to improve coherence, interoperability and coordination at local level and between the local, national, regional and EU levels, to be prepared for communication and decision‐making challenges in crisis situations. Working with the contractor Opera srl, EFSA organised a 2‐day training on 15‐16 May 2025 in Ankara (Türkiye), attended by 28 participants from 7 IPA countries, 1 representative from EFSA and 1 representative from the hosting competent authority from Türkiye. The participants were briefed on the IPA capacity building opportunities, EFSA's procedure for crisis response, principles of crisis communication during a multi‐country animal disease outbreak, EU legislative framework on crisis management coordination and response in the animal health sector, risk assessment structures in Türkiye. Most of the workshop was dedicated to the simulation exercise, that was organized in a tabletop format, with injects describing an evolving animal health outbreak and a debriefing after each inject. During the exercise, a TV debate was simulated. The exercise was concluded with a brainstorming session between the tutors and participants. Two recommendations were outlined to improve the organization of future events. The training objectives were achieved, evidenced by the knowledge test results and participants’ feedback provided in the course evaluation questionnaire.