Industry urged to work together on food safety

All stakeholders in the global food and drink industry have a duty to work together to deliver safe food.

That was the key message from the 2010 Food Safety Conference in Washington DC, USA, (3 February 2010).

The event, organised by The Consumer Goods Forum, attracted a record-breaking 675 delegates from 39 countries.

Forum managing director Jean-Marc Saubade said consumer confidence had been shaken the world over, following a series of high-profile food safety incidents. The industry must work collectively to restore confidence and ensure that all consumers can exercise their right to buy and consume safe food, he said.

“We all have a duty to work together on a non-competitive basis to deliver this. It is imperative to join up the dots: between farm and fork; between science, industry and regulators; between standards, auditors and suppliers ...The industry will speak as one voice.”

Saubade’s call for collaboration was backed up by Leslie

Sarasin, CEO of the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and Pamela Bailey, president and CEO of the Grocery Manufacturers’ Association. The two American trade bodies pledged to work together and with the Consumer Goods Forum to drive progress via the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), which the Forum manages.

In a call to action, JP Suarez, GFSI board chairman and senior vice president and general counsel, international division, Wal-Mart Stores, said GFSI was only as good as its participants. The initiative should not be an expensive luxury that only the biggest companies can afford.

“We need to reach the small suppliers and figure out how to make GFSI relevant,” he said.