These guidelines are intended to assist national authorities wishing to establish or strengthen food contamination monitoring programmes as part of their overall food safety, food control and resource management activities. Furthermore, they aim to show how the information generated by monitoring can be used nationally and, where national authorities agree, internationally and the benefits which can be derived from such work. The assistance that international agencies can provide to countries wishing to start food contamination monitoring is also briefly discussed. The guidelines are primarily intended to meet the needs of those responsible for planning and implementing monitoring programmes. However, it is important that those responsible, at the highest level in government, for the allocation of resources for such activities be made aware of the need for and benefits of monitoring, both in safeguarding human health and from the economic point of view.