The 2010 International Forum on Food Safety was held in Beijing, on April 22 and 23, 2010. The forum was co-organized by the Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology (CIFST) and the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) under the auspices of the Ministry of Health China.
"Risk Management: Concept and Practice" was set up to be the theme of this forum. Experts from related departments of China Government, global industry and leading international organization in the area of food safety gave wonderful speeches on the forum.
As the honorable chair, Zhu Chen, the Minister of Ministry of Health, PRC, attended the opening ceremony and addressed. In the speech he said, food safety affected every aspect of a country's political, economic and social fabric. Profound challenges were faced as the global food industry is being transformed. Best case practices with regard to standardization, consumer health and maintaining proper regulation along all levels of the supply chain were being sought. China took a major step forward towards improving its national food safety standards with the inception of the China Food Safety Law, June 2009. This law had broad implications for what would be permitted with the Chinese food industry. Along with other sectors, food safety management systems and inspection systems would be undergoing dramatic changes. The international exchange of ideas and collaboration on food safety issues were extremely important and necessary for the successful implementation of these changes at this critical time.
Dr. Joseph Jen, the ex Under Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, the Chair of the Advisory Committee of SJTU Bor S. Luh Food Safety Research Center, and the Co-chair of International Expert Panel on Food Safety of IUFoST, gave the speech named with ‘Food Safety: Whose Responsibility?’. He illustrated that in the America, any food industry can not ignore the food safety to pursue the economic interest only. The government was responsible for developing the comprehensive food safety regulations and laws. The academia and the media had the responsibility to let the civilian know the importance of food safety. To ensure every consumer being able to buy the safe food, the whole community should work together closely.
[Author] Dr. Jin Yue, SJTU Bor S. Luh Food Safety Research Center