SPEECH BY THE MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC SERVICES, PROF. JOSEF BONNICI, AT THE WORLD FOOD SAFETY ORGANISATION CONFERENCE ON ‘THE IMPACT OF FOOD SAFETY CONTROL', Corinthia San Gorg, St Julian's

The topic of food safety is one, which regularly features, in national and international headlines. Indeed it can safely be said that few other topics have captured the interest and attention of producers, consumers and regulators as food safety. This is of course logical and natural. Foodstuffs are not just any other commodities, designed to cater for particular requirements at definite points in time. They also form such an intrinsic part of our everyday life, indeed of our very culture, that any threat to safety, whether real or perceived, is taken by the consumer as a very direct and dangerous challenge.

National and international media have been very quick to respond to consumer fears and expectations in this most sensitive area and have focused their spotlight on a number of issues, which, until a few years ago, were the exclusive domain of scientists and sectoral experts. Our consumers are now actively interested in a wide range of topics relating to food safety, with even highly complicated and innovative areas such as genetically modified foods, irradiation of foods and health claims being the focus of their attention.

The recent wave of food scares that has hit Europe and the world beyond has not left our islands unaffected. The Maltese consumer is no different to his counterpart elsewhere and has reacted by voting with his feet, shunning long established products in favour of alternatives which, rightly or wrongly, were considered to be safer and more trustworthy. The result has been an unprecedented shift in consumer tastes and preferences with unforeseen and dramatic effect on food businesses that were previously accustomed to operating in the context of traditional and unchanging consumer choices.

The task facing industry, operators and regulators alike is a daunting one. We must first of all ensure that consumers are adequately protected and offered a choice of safe and wholesome foodstuffs at competitive prices. We must also devise the structures necessary for ensuring that issues critical to food safety are recognised in time and appropriate control measures taken. Finally we must seek to reassure the consumer by separating facts from myths and engage in constant and meaningful communication with all stakeholders to ensure that this aim is achieved.

Over the past years, the Maltese Government has been progressively upgrading and updating the national food control system. In so doing, we have based our efforts on the model developed by the European Union, a model which Malta considers to be very well suited to our national requirements and trading patterns. For the past decade, the Maltese authorities have adopted and implemented most provisions of the Community acquis in the area of foodstuffs as part of its drive towards total harmonization. We have now reached the stage where the vast majority of our legislative and administrative requirements are identical to those prevailing within the Community, with obvious benefits for consumers and operators alike.

Simultaneously, we are also embarking on a radical and innovative reorganization of our food control system, primarily by ensuring that there is effective co-ordination between the various authorities involved, in one way or the other, in food control and food safety management. A Food Safety Commission has been appointed so as to act as the competent authority for food safety and assume responsibility for the development of a national surveillance plan for food safety. The Commission will also ensure that these aims are implemented in an effective, transparent and comprehensive manner.

This Commission is composed of senior officials within the key authorities responsible for food safety, namely the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry for Economic Services and the Ministry for the Environment. The strategy that will be adopted by the Commission in its work will be based on the three principles of risk analysis, namely risk assessment, risk management and risk communication. We believe that this model provides a solid and scientific basis for our food control strategy; a requirement that we feel is essential in order to maintain and increase the level of consumer confidence.

The Maltese Government is also working on a new Food Safety Act that will replace the existing Food, Drugs and Drinking Water Act. The new Act will address new issues and expectations as well as contain a much-improved range of control measures with the aim of ensuring flexibility and efficacy in food control. The Act will be comprehensive and will cover all the food chain, including raw materials for the production of foods and feeds, in line with the ‘plough to plate' principle. It will also encourage and recognize the voluntary efforts that may be made by individual operators and trade groups to go beyond the minimum requirements set by legislation.

In this context, the new Act will taken into account other existing legislation offering a framework for food quality policy, especially the Malta Standards Authority Act, which lays down the basis for voluntary standardisation, certification and accreditation in Malta. One concrete example of this policy is work currently underway between the Malta Standards Authority and the Ministry of Agriculture to identify, promote and protect traditional food products through the establishment of a National Mark for foods of specific character or guaranteed traditional specialities. In this way we hope to go beyond food safety and encompass as well food quality. We are convinced that the consumer will increasingly demand, not just safer food, but also food the origin and production method of which is known.

Another example is the work currently being undertaken under the aegis of the Malta Standards Authority to develop a number of sectoral guides to assist business operators in the implementation of the European Union's Food Hygiene Directive and the associated HACCP requirement.

A total of eight guides are being developed, covering a range of diverse activities, including food processors, retail establishments, the catering and hospitality sector, outside caterers, butchers, bakers and confectioners, mobile vendors and canteens and cafeterias, with the involvement of trade and business groups, consumers and food safety experts.

The Malta Standards Authority will eventually adopt these guides as national standards, thus opening the possibility of third party certification of food businesses by accredited bodies. The use of the standardization procedure in the formulation and adoption of these guides will ensure that the opinions and interests of all stakeholders are taken into account.

In formulating its policy, the Maltese Government has also been closely following global developments, in particular those unfolding within the European Union. As a candidate country for accession to the European Union, Malta has welcomed the White Paper on Food Safety published by the European Commission and strongly supports many of the recommendations made in that document. In particular, we look forward to the establishment of the European Food Authority that will assume specific responsibility for risk assessment and risk communication. We fully support the principle that risk management activities should be based on independent, transparent and competent risk assessment and that the results and findings of all activities should be transmitted to all interested parties through a continuous programme of risk communication and information.

This Conference comes at a time when food businesses have to adapt rapidly to a changing environment. It is therefore natural that all those with an interest in food safety should seek to exchange experiences and viewpoints. The Maltese authorities definitely encourage such initiatives as an appropriate way in which the expectations and concerns of business operators, consumers, regulators and practitioners can be contrasted and reconciled.

Allow me to conclude by wishing you the best of success at this conference and thank you for choosing Malta for your organisation's baptism. I am sure this inaugural conference will serve as a fruitful everlasting forum on food safety issues.