National will be held to account for food safety

National will be held to account if food safety declines

Labour will hold National to account if re-merging the NZ Food Safety Authority with the Agriculture Ministry results in declining food safety standards, say Deputy Leader Annette King and Food Safety spokesperson Dr Ashraf Choudhary.

Ms King, who became the country’s first Food Safety Minister in 2002 when NZFSA was set up within MAF, said independent advice had been sought before the separation in 2007, and Labour wanted an assurance from National that it had sought similarly independent advice before the likely re-merger.

“We don’t oppose efficient mergers, but there were very good reasons, including conflicts of interest, for setting up the independent authority in 2007. National must assure us they have equally good evidence for turning the clock back, because if food safety suffers, they will be held to account.

“We set up the authority to protect consumers and enhance New Zealand’s position as a trusted food supplier,” said Ms King. “On the face of it, without having been shown evidence, it seems the re-merger is happening simply to save money.”

Dr Choudhary said the food sector has an estimated annual $22 billion turnover and employs more than 20 percent of working New Zealanders. “A safe food supply is a public health priority for any country and nearly 80% of the food we produce is exported, providing just over half our export earnings and underpinning our economy.

“Over the past year NZFSA has undertaken significant initiatives, such as leading the world in improving the safety of poultry for human consumption by developing standards to combat campylobacter in broiler chickens,” Dr Choudhary said. “New Zealand can’t afford to put advances like that at risk. I would have thought that John Key as Tourism Minister would have understood that.

“The Authority has shown that as a stand-alone organisation it can be light on its feet and move quickly to intercept any threat to our food exports. Where is the evidence to justify putting that proven efficiency and effectiveness at risk?

Independent advice on the decision to separate NZFSA and MAF in 2007 can be seen at: http://www.ssc.govt.nz/display/document.asp?NavID=218&DocID=6004

ENDS