Recapping a successful GFSF 2016 on Foodonline
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Recapping The 2016 GFSF Annual Summit

By Rick Gilmore, chairman, Global Food Safety Forum

This year’s Global Food Safety Forum (GFSF) summit was special in many respects, not the least of which was the site itself. The Yanqi Lake Convention and Exhibition Center is the official Asia-Pacific Economic Cooporation (APEC) convention site, underscoring a central theme of the Summit — the integral link between food safety and international trade. In addition, the scale of the Center was ideal for accommodating record attendance levels.

This year’s presenters were recognized experts from the private and public sectors. These speakers brought new perspectives on critical issues covering regulatory developments, advancements in technology, compliance concerns, problems, and prospects.

Government officials were forthright about the compliance obstacles and foreseeable remedies.  Among the most notable on their list were: 1) a lack of uniform enforcement of the Food Safety Law at the provincial government level, 2) auditor training levels, 3) budgetary constraints, and 4) insufficient access to new detection technologies and verification systems.

The Chairman of Tootoo Organic Farm — a leading domestic e-platform and distributor for organic products —pointed to the growing recognition of Chinese consumers of the importance of safe, quality food.  She has grown the company into a market mover of organic product nationwide.  

The Chairman of LeLaoGen addressed the importance of sustainable agriculture to a dependable food safety system. As an organic pig producer, he described the company’s operating system and noted that they do not use GMO maize in their feed.  The President of TUV, China — a global testing, certification, inspection, and food safety training provider — discussed the growing recognition by China industry of international standards, but the continued lack of the application of these standards into operating systems other than for “top level” companies.

The Vice Chairman of China Agricultural Technology Extension Association applauded the official China trade and investment policy of “one belt/one road.” In his view, the policy optimizes resource allocation as well as incentivizing agricultural modernization, integration, and consolidation.  The policy, in his estimation, is a pathway to embed food safety, production technology, and agricultural services within an expanded supply chain.  The presenter from SCIEX — a global leader in mass spectrometers — unveiled new advances in lab verification technologies.  The CCO of ICS/Australia outlined the workings of Management Information System (MIS) software systems for integrated tracking of the food safety footprint from farm to fork.

Another industry presenter discussed the use of blockchain in certifying food safety product in China.  And the President of BRIC Global Agricultural Consultants, an official host of the Summit, discussed the growth, food safety benefits, and opportunities for e-produce sales in China.

The World Bank representative discussed Global Food Safety Program (GFSP) initiatives in China and their focus on incubator activities targeting medium-size enterprises.  The U.S. presenter from the FDA outlined new regulatory procedures for the Voluntary Qualified Importer Program (VQIP) and China provincial regulatory agency representatives discussed new enforcement procedures of the amended China Food Safety Law.

The panel discussions, which included Tootoo, TUV, the marketing director from the Ministry of Agriculture/Gansu Province, and GIC Group presenters, fleshed out many of the issues in the presentations of the first day.  Moderators also drew attention to the commercial consequences of food safety threats, such as cargo rejections at international ports and dilution of asset value in brands undermined by flawed inspection and verification.

After the second day, hosted by Tootoo, a GFSF member delegation visited cooperative farms, wineries, an integrated large scale swine production and slaughtering facility, and e-platforms in Yang Tai.  The group also had an opportunity to meet with 30 business representatives and the local technical director of CFDA (China Food and Drug Administration)/ Shandong Province in a frank and open discussion of local food safety issues. 

The fifth annual GFSF Summit offered participants the opportunity to openly discuss their priorities and particular issues of concern.  Regulators and policy makers also hosted a unique series of site visits, enabling delegation members to move from a “top-down” discussion of the broad macro set of food safety issues to operating systems and concerns at the production, processing, and distribution levels in a productive agricultural region of the country. 

There were many takeaways from the series of events.  The conclusions drew a picture of salutary accomplishments and potential future threats which highlight the importance of GFSF as a private-public platform for information sharing and the joint development of new risk mitigation strategies for domestic and international supply chains. 

Clearly, there is a lot to be watchful for in the year ahead. In the coming year, GFSF will be offering e-food safety courses in Chinese in collaboration with the University of Maryland/ JIFSAN (Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition), continuing our partnership with the World Bank’s GFSP, and promoting food safety liability insurance for members and non-members. 

See you at next year’s Summit.