Strong Chinese Interest In Food Safety

November 3, 2013

A group of up to 40 Chinese primary producers and dairy representatives spearheads an exciting overseas contingent of delegates attending the first Global Food Safety Forum to be held in New Zealand.

The forum, in Dunedin from November 13-15, will address the perception that New Zealand must improve its food safety standards.

Normally the forum meets in Beijing, but Dr Helen Darling, a food integrity consultant, has persuaded the US based not-for-profit organisation, to hold it in New Zealand for the first time.

“This is a breakthrough conference and we’ll be looking at emerging threats and ways to address them before they become a problem,” Dr Darling says. “New Zealand has been caught out on a number of occasions and the dialogue and interaction will be focused on preventing further issues.”

Key to the forum is bringing Chinese and American delegates to Dunedin to see this country’s food safety procedures at first hand.

Dr Darling regards the response from China as significant. “The delegates represent the dairy and meat industry and they want to see what we do and are interested in using our procedures to improve food safety in China,” she says.

“This forum is where dialogue between both ends of the supply chain can take place to improve transparency and integrity.”

In turn New Zealand producers must understand what the Chinese, in particular, requires of them. “This is an area where we need to be more effective. If we don’t have an understanding of what they need in terms of food production and safety standards, we’re not going to get more orders,” Helen Darling says.

As well as the Chinese contingent, the 160 delegates comprise people from the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Dr Darling will present a model to the forum that ensures the integrity of food safety products leaving New Zealand. Other keynote speeches will be given by Professor Xiaoming Huang, the Director of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre, Conor English, CEO of Federated Farmers and representatives from Fonterra, NZTE, the Infant Nutrition Council and Environmental Science and Research (ESR).

The government has recognised the significance of the forum. It will be opened by Primary Industries Minister, Nathan Guy, who will deliver a keynote address.

Dr Darling explains the forum is a unique opportunity for New Zealand multi-nationals, producers, exporters and people involved in the food safety chain to attend and benefit from the conference.

During the two days of the forum, held at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, issues such as the validation of multi-industry standards, tighter certification procedures and quality controls can be discussed throughout workshops and formal networking sessions. A number of important case studies will be presented to stimulate dialogue at these sessions.

“The timing of the forum is crucial. It is where we can seize the moment to rebuild out image resulting from the damage surrounding our food safety brand,” she says.

ENDS

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