The 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
member-economies, especially the developing countries, should adopt an
international standard on food security to address increasing risks brought by
global warming, the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) said.
Anthony Nowell, a member of the Board of Food Standards of Australia-New Zealand, emphasized the importance for developing countries to start aligning their food standard policies with Codex Alimentarius, a collection of internationally recognized standards, codes of practices, guidelines, and other recommendations related to food, food production, and food safety.
"[Standardization on producing quality food] is actually quite easy because the work has effectively been done by Codex. If all countries were to make a commitment to come very close to Codex, and work strongly from the base, then I think that we have a large resolution to the issue,” Nowell said
Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, United States, Canada, and Japan have already aligned their food security standards with Codex, he said, noting that developing countries “have not been long enough to the process” and that “some traditional things have to change.”
The APEC Food Safety Cooperative Forum, which meets every two years, is a step in the right direction, he said.
At the last meeting in Cebu a month ago, “I've been told, there’s a lot of cooperation now developing. And that’s a meeting of regulators, food safety regulators across the region," he added.
As part of the private sector, Nowell said he advocates a very strong role for the private sector on the issue of food security. He said that while bureaucrats can make the right policies, the private sector makes sure that “food gets from the small fisher folk and farmers to the markets of the world.”
Policy-makers should bring farmers, fisher folk, and the private sector together so that they can work closely on now to efficiently deliver their crops and fishes to the market for trade, he added. (PNA/PCOO News Release)
Anthony Nowell, a member of the Board of Food Standards of Australia-New Zealand, emphasized the importance for developing countries to start aligning their food standard policies with Codex Alimentarius, a collection of internationally recognized standards, codes of practices, guidelines, and other recommendations related to food, food production, and food safety.
"[Standardization on producing quality food] is actually quite easy because the work has effectively been done by Codex. If all countries were to make a commitment to come very close to Codex, and work strongly from the base, then I think that we have a large resolution to the issue,” Nowell said
Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, United States, Canada, and Japan have already aligned their food security standards with Codex, he said, noting that developing countries “have not been long enough to the process” and that “some traditional things have to change.”
The APEC Food Safety Cooperative Forum, which meets every two years, is a step in the right direction, he said.
At the last meeting in Cebu a month ago, “I've been told, there’s a lot of cooperation now developing. And that’s a meeting of regulators, food safety regulators across the region," he added.
As part of the private sector, Nowell said he advocates a very strong role for the private sector on the issue of food security. He said that while bureaucrats can make the right policies, the private sector makes sure that “food gets from the small fisher folk and farmers to the markets of the world.”
Policy-makers should bring farmers, fisher folk, and the private sector together so that they can work closely on now to efficiently deliver their crops and fishes to the market for trade, he added. (PNA/PCOO News Release)
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