Union Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare, Smt. Anupriya Patel addressed the Regional Conclave on “Enhancing Regional Collaboration & Harmonization in Standard Setting Process” in the ongoing Second Edition of Global Food Regulators Summit 2024 hosted by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) alongside the World Food India 2024 event being organised by Ministry of Food Processing Industries at Bharat Mandapam, here today. The purpose of the regional conclave is to enhance regional collaboration and harmonization in food safety and standard setting process.
Underlining the importance of the conclave, Smt. Anupriya Patel stated that, “the Asian region is responsible for a significant portion of the world’s food production. With this prominence comes the responsibility to ensure food safety, promote health, and uphold fair trade practices that align with international standards. The conclave reaffirms a stronger, more collaborative approach to food safety and standards within the Asia region. It is a vital milestone in our collective journey towards a safer and healthy food system for not just our region, but also for the entire world.”
Smt. Patel emphasized that “despite the potential we hold as a region, the challenges like vast differences in regulatory frameworks, institutional capacities and technical expertise across the region and the lack of awareness among national stakeholders regarding the food-safety standards limit our ability to comply with international food safety standards. To address these challenges, we must enhance our regional collaboration by pooling our resources, sharing technical expertise and aligning our strategies” as “only through unity and cooperation we can elevate the region’s role in shaping international food standards.”
Smt. Patel further said that “we need to look ahead at the new and emerging sectors. Standards must be developed for areas like aquaculture, processed foods and organic farming while addressing new technologies like bio-technology and sustainable farming. These advancements are critical as we strive to make our food systems safe, more resilient and sustainable for the future.” She added that “the conclave will drive meaningful progress towards harmonizing food-safety across the region that will facilitate seamless trade and also strengthen food-safety for all our populations.”
Shri G. Kamala Vardhan Rao, CEO, FSSAI stated that “the issues faced by Asia are different from the issues faced by the other regions of the world. It is an opportune time for discussing those regional-level issues that can have global impacts. The conclave will be a learning experience for discussing and addressing issues like emerging markets, emerging food products, standardization procedures, quality assurance and the methodologies.”
Mr. Steve Wearne, Chairperson, Codex Alimentarius Commission, Food Standards Agency (Global Affairs), UK noted that “the Asian region has diverse cultures, climate and food production systems. Each of the member countries bring unique knowledge to the table. This regional conclave provides an opportunity and platform for discussing food standards and quality control that are vitally important for addressing the vast differences in regulatory frameworks, institutional capacities and technical expertise across the region.”
Highlighting the regional and international importance of the summit, Dr. Vincent Arbuckle, DDG, New Zealand Food Safety, Ministry of Primary Industries, New Zealand, stated that “ the summit marks an excellent opportunity to learn from one another to demonstrate food safety leadership, to share insights and deepen our understanding of each other’s systems, fostering greater capability-building, enhancing government-cooperation and harmonization that will lead to improving the functions and systems for the benefit of consumers, food businesses and facilitating international trade.”
Dr. Alka Rao, Codex – SPS Contact Point and Advisor, Science and Standards & Regulations Division, FSSAI; senior officials from the Union Health Ministry and dignitaries from various countries were present on the occasion.
