The Introduction of Strategies to Deal with the Risks of Health-Threatening Factors in Strategic Agricultural Import Products

Agriculture is one of the most active sectors of the economy in all countries. It plays a pivotal role in improving food security of the growing population. To achieve food security, it is not enough to cultivate food products within the national borders, and importing agricultural inputs and products is also essential. It is necessary to examine the imported foods and agricultural products in terms of different risk factors (such as pathogens, transgenic plants, herbicide residues, pesticide residues, heavy metals, and, in general, agroterrorism and bioterrorism). Through this, the country and the people are saved from the threats of consuming contaminated food. Hence, in this research we attempt to introduce helpful efficient strategies in this field. To this end, a questionnaire is administered among the experts in the fields of agriculture and health to examine the risk factors and based on the results, efficient tools and technologies to deal with the risk factors in agricultural products are introduced. In addition, the strength, weakness, threats, and opportunities in strategic agricultural products import cycle are highlighted through consulting public and private bodies in charge. The collected data are analyzed using a SWOT matrix. This study showed that concluding perfect legal contracts, evaluating the health certification of imported products, and equipping the customs laboratories with technologies such as PCR and HPLC are helpful to deal with the risks of health-threatening factors in imported agricultural products for human and animal consumptions. Finally, the necessary strategies to deal with the risk of health-threatening factors are identified