On Wednesday, New Zealand's minister in charge of
food safety sought to reassure food industry representatives from China
and other major markets that they should have confidence in New
Zealand's food regulation.
“It was the job of the government to make sure the regulatory policy framework was internationally recognised as fit for purpose so that food exporters could build on that level of confidence to persuade consumers to buy New Zealand food products,” Nathan Guy, primary industries minister, said in a speech at the Global Food Safety Forum, which was held in Dunedin, New Zealand, between November 13 and 15, 2013.
A group of upto 40 Chinese primary producers and dairy representatives were among the 160 delegates that participated in the forum, which is run by a United States-based not-for-profit organisation and is generally held in Beijing.
“The task is not small. New Zealand has 40,000 regulated food businesses. Each business is responsible for implementing regulated standards across all food production, handling, processing, storage and transportation,” Guy said.
“The system is supported by eleven scientific programmes that test food across the entire food supply chain. More than a million tests a year are commissioned by the ministry for primary industries to monitor the effectiveness of the regulatory system,” he added.
The government was also putting a priority on working closely with regulators in China.
“As a part of this, the ministry for primary industries (MPI) has been working on a 25-point plan to improve our dealings with China,” said Guy.
Two new MPI staff would be stationed in China by the end of the year, in addition to the existing counsellor for agriculture and locally-engaged staff, and MPI was doubling its market access team in Wellington from eight to 16, and investing in training to strengthen and deepen the relationship between MPI and key Chinese regulators.
New Zealand's food industry was hammered in August, when dairy giant Fonterra triggered a global recall of products after a false alert over botulism contamination.
That followed other international concerns over New Zealand dairy products and export licensing problems that saw New Zealand food exports stuck on wharves overseas.
(Source: Xinhua)
“It was the job of the government to make sure the regulatory policy framework was internationally recognised as fit for purpose so that food exporters could build on that level of confidence to persuade consumers to buy New Zealand food products,” Nathan Guy, primary industries minister, said in a speech at the Global Food Safety Forum, which was held in Dunedin, New Zealand, between November 13 and 15, 2013.
A group of upto 40 Chinese primary producers and dairy representatives were among the 160 delegates that participated in the forum, which is run by a United States-based not-for-profit organisation and is generally held in Beijing.
“The task is not small. New Zealand has 40,000 regulated food businesses. Each business is responsible for implementing regulated standards across all food production, handling, processing, storage and transportation,” Guy said.
“The system is supported by eleven scientific programmes that test food across the entire food supply chain. More than a million tests a year are commissioned by the ministry for primary industries to monitor the effectiveness of the regulatory system,” he added.
The government was also putting a priority on working closely with regulators in China.
“As a part of this, the ministry for primary industries (MPI) has been working on a 25-point plan to improve our dealings with China,” said Guy.
Two new MPI staff would be stationed in China by the end of the year, in addition to the existing counsellor for agriculture and locally-engaged staff, and MPI was doubling its market access team in Wellington from eight to 16, and investing in training to strengthen and deepen the relationship between MPI and key Chinese regulators.
New Zealand's food industry was hammered in August, when dairy giant Fonterra triggered a global recall of products after a false alert over botulism contamination.
That followed other international concerns over New Zealand dairy products and export licensing problems that saw New Zealand food exports stuck on wharves overseas.
(Source: Xinhua)
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