Food Safety 2014 Forum to Assess Harmonising Standards across EU and ASEAN

28 Aug 2014 --- Food security is a condition that "exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life," as defined by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

A key issue for the EU and ASEAN food industry is the lack of a level-playing field regarding regulatory and technology standards on food safety in both regions. This non-alignment of standards acts as a technical trade barrier for both sides. Increasing and harmonising these EU-ASEAN food safety standards would directly support two key drivers of economic welfare in both regions: Trade and Public Health.

A level-playing field in food safety standards would give the ASEAN food industry full and sustainable access to the lucrative EU market, giving the chance to build up long-term key competitive advantages. At the same time, EU export towards ASEAN would increase, thus supporting economic growth for both EU and ASEAN.

A healthy and productive workforce is essential to stay competitive in the ever more global economy. It is crucial to invest in illness prevention rather than just on health-care. Both EU and ASEAN stand to benefit heavily from producing and importing safe food.

The upcoming EU-ASEAN Forum on Food Safety (13th – 14th October 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) serves as a debate platform for food safety experts, associations and businesses, connecting EU and ASEAN through the latest scientific and industrial information exchange.

The broad concept of Food Safety will be specified through four key themes: Shelf Life, Traceability, Cold Chain and Labelling – from the Academic (science), Policy (regulatory) and Operational (technologies and solutions) perspectives.

The EU-ASEAN Forum on Food Safety 2014 is organised by the EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce & Industry (EUMCCI) together with Malaysia-Belgium-Luxembourg Business Council (MBLBC), Malaysian Dutch Business Council (MDuBC), UBIFRANCE Malaysia, Malaysian Spanish Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MSCCI), European Business and Innovation Centre Network and Stiftelsen Europa Institutet.

It is co-funded by the European Union under the Support for European Business in South East Asia Markets - Malaysia Component (SEBSEAM-M). The overall aim of this project is to promote trade and investment flows between the EU, Malaysia and the wider ASEAN market, and facilitate market access, specifically for SMEs.

For further information on this event, please go to www.eu-aseanforum.com