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April 7, 2006: Feed industry leaders to meet in China

Feed industry leaders to meet in China  

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April 7, 2006 - Leaders of the world ' s feed industry will be meeting at the beginning of June in Nanjing, China to discuss food and feed safety issues with a particular emphasis on harmonisation and training.  

ӠF4 members are China, USA, Europe and Brazil. They account for three-quarters of all compound feed produced globally and are meeting to identify obstacles that hinder the efficient production of livestock products and stand in the way of greater food safety, Ԡsays Roger Gilbert, Secretary General of the International Feed Industry Federation based in the UK.  

This is the second time in two years that the group of four have met. The first meeting took place in London, UK, in July 2004.  

ӠThe outcome of our first meeting was that industry agreed to disagree. However, a lot has happened in the intervening two years and industry has had several opportunities to work closer together to help resolve common problems. We now believe there is a case for greater harmonisation between our key compound feed production regions.  

ӠWe have to remove some of the barriers to greater trade in livestock products in order to deliver food to those areas of the world where it is needed and to treat consumer safety as fundamental to food our food production systems. Almost all sustainable animal production begins with compound feed manufacturing. Ԡ 

Mr Gilbert says the F4 meeting will review the rapid development of the Chinese feed sector and discuss its future impact on world feed production. It will also look as several aspects of greater harmonisation between countries in the area of regulations, ingredient standard setting and personnel training.  

ӠWe will also look at the outcome of the Codex Code of Good Animal Feeding Practice and draw together opinions on how Codex might develop programs to help the feed sector in all countries achieve greater levels of food safety. We will look at traceability, emergency recall and the need for an Expert Consultation on feed sector issues which may help us rank outstanding issues in some for of priority list for action.  

ӠWe have learnt from our BSE experiences and know that control systems developed out of meeting a challenge can benefit countries facing a crisis. This is also true with Bird Flu. We will look at ways the feed industry has and is responding to the spread of Bird Flu and how we might help to limit any potential damage in terms of bird health and food safety, Ԡhe added.  

The global feed industry will be meeting to discuss this and other global issues such as HACCP, traceability and the implementation of the Codex Alimentarius Feed Code,Ԡsays Gilbert.  
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Note to Editors:
For additional information please contact:
Roger Gilbert
Secretary General - IFIF
Tel: +44 1242 267702  or Email: