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GFTF PLANNING TRACEABILITY EVENTS IN AUSTRALASIA AND LATIN AMERICA

Global Food Traceability Forum is negotiating with potential partners in Australasia and Latin America with a view to staging major food traceability events in both regions in 2009.

The move follows the success of our two day conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, earlier this year which demonstrated the demand for impartial, authoritative information on traceability from SMEs wishing to export to major markets such as Europe and the USA.

Ian G Smith, chief executive officer of GFTF, said : “The Malaysian conference showed that although exporters are gradually accepting that they need traceability if they are going to maintain and increase sales to the big markets, there is still a lack of understanding about what this means for their business in operational terms.”

Like the Malaysian conference, the two new events would aim to show producers and exporters how to meet traceability regulations in a cost effective manner, how to use traceability to make their business more efficient and how traceability can add value to products.

“Traceability is, in fact, a business opportunity because it gives consumers an added degree of confidence in a product’s origin and quality. Companies which embrace it can enjoy a quick return on investment and an on-going added value for their products” said Ian G Smith.

Questions the conference will address are likely to include:

Why traceability is vital to the world food supply chain
Traceability – connecting Europe with major food exporting regions
Traceability – is it a technical barrier to trade ?
Traceability – supporting world-wide prosperity
EU Food regulations and how they affect food exporters selling to Europe
New Science in traceability
Combating bio-terrorism and food fraud

YOUR VIEWS WANTED : we at GFTF want YOUR views on the proposed content of these two major conferences to make them as relevant as possible to YOUR needs.
Please email us at info@gftf.org with your suggestions on content. These could cover both trading and technical subjects, legislation, labelling and packaging etc. We would also be delighted to hear from potential speakers with details of their areas of special interest.

PETER Project delegates say greater communication is vital to encourage understanding and uptake of traceability : key recommendations made to European Commission

Delegates at the final conference of the EU Framework 6 PETER Project in Malaga, Spain, identified the need for improved communication between all stakeholders as a main requirement for greater understanding and quicker implementation of traceability in the food supply chain. Among their key recommendations to the EC was that an international forum be supported to enable dialogue, promote the exchange of information and to understand the challenges facing global markets.

Click here to read the full conference report

Click here to visit the PETER project website