An
initial million-dollar fund was established on Sunday to facilitate access to
training for food safety mechanisms for farmers, producers and officials of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) region; with sights set for the fund
to grow and become a global facility.
Created on the sidelines of Apec meetings
hosted by the US in Hawaii, the "world's first" Global Food Safety
Fund was the result of a public-private partnership (PPP) and will be managed
by the World Bank via an Apec-based approach.
"These (training) programmes will enable
more growers, producers and food safety officials to understand and utilise
preventative controls--resulting in safer food for consumers and fewer safety
incidents in food trade," a statement from the US State Department said.
US Under Secretary of State for Economic,
Business and Agricultural Affairs, Robert Hormats, who attended the event at
the Sheraton Waikiki in Honolulu said that the increasing effect of
globalisation called for greater protection of health and safety of citizens,
noting that the US imported US$7.2 billion worth of food products from East
Asia last year.
"The sheer volume of imports, the variety
and complexity of products and the intricate, lengthy and often opaque nature
of supply chains for goods before reaching consumers, creates challenges to
ensuring that all food products are safe and of high quality," he said.
"With an increasingly global food supply
chain, we must work even harder together--governments, industry and all
stakeholders--to ensure that food is safe."
He commended Mars Incorporated and the Waters
Corporation, along with the US Agency for International Development (US AID)
for providing the "seed money" for the Global Food Safety Fund. The
initial funding is hoped to encourage other governments and industry partners
to contribute to the fund, with the goal of raising US$15-US$20 million over
the next decade.
"Beyond being the right thing to do,
selling bad food products is simply bad business. Incidents of food-borne
illness not only hurt the bottom-line of the company or companies that
manufactured the contaminated food, it also threatens consumer confidence for
the entire product category, industry or even country," Hormats said.
The under secretary wanted to see the fund
grow so that training programmes can be tested and developed in Apec first
before being implemented in the developing world, such as in Africa, the Middle
East and South America.
"This is only the beginning. More
resources and more partners will be needed to truly make a difference on a
global scale."
The Global Food Safety Fund is expected to
"help expand the effective participation of small-scale farmers, handlers,
processors and marketers in more profitable food supply chains, offering an
enormous opportunity to lift the world's farmers out of poverty".
Its establishment will result in improved
competencies, protocol, laboratory proficiency and risk-based management
systems and regulations, a separate statement said. This would lead to better
health and nutrition, reduced risk of food-borne threats and ultimately,
improved food security.
In her remarks, World Bank Managing Director
Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that the global financial and research institution
was pleased to provide the support needed in knowledge-sharing. "As we well
know, a food safety crisis that originates in one region can so rapidly become
a crisis in others," she said.
News Desk
The Brunei Times
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment