Australasian Science 11-5

44 | JUNE 2016

DIRECTIONS Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering

Australian and Chinese agricultural leaders have agreed on the

need to address a pyramid ofinterlocking issues to address the

world’s requirements for a safe and sustainable food chain. They

have identiied the issues of systems and technology, underpin-

ning culture and trust, as the key requirements to deliver food

safety and win international community support.

This breakthrough identiication of the key food safety issues

came at an April workshop in Beijing jointly run by the Chinese

Academy of Engineering and the Australian Academy of Tech-

nology and Engineering to focus on technology advances in food

safety. I led the ATSE delegation of leading Australian thinkers

on the topic.

The drive to put some structure around food safety is driven

by the fact that we live in a world with:

• increasing population and urbanisation;


• changing agricultural practices and climate;


• increasing technological intervention in food production;


• increasing volume and diversity of trade in food;


• changing requirements for food preparation; and


• increasing demand for safe food.
  The workshop agreed that we need to ensure food safety along
  the whole agrifood chain – or “web” – as we now have complex
  food solutions involving both fresh and processed food of domestic
  and international origin. Consumers’ expectation of 100% health
  protection requires the joint efforts of all stakeholders, and effec-
  tive coordination of government policy and regulation with
  industry control and management.
  Governments develop standards to protect their population,
  and these often vary from country to country. But there are advan-
  tages in using global benchmarks and standards for food safety
  best practice and the recognition of equivalent schemes (such as
  the Global Food Safety Initiative with harmonised additional
  retail customer requirements).

As fewer obstacles to production and distribution give better

results, there is a need for straightforward guidelines and assessment

tools.

Technology and engineering involved in food production,

processing and preservation has enabled us to remove impuri-

ties (such as pollutants and residues) while not adding adverse

toxins. The internet and Global Information Systems enable

improved growth and harvesting processes (through moni-

toring and control).

Technology will play an even more important role in the

seamless integration of product identiication and global trace-

ability through information collection (barcode and sensor

technology), transmission (data exchangeability through

common formats and interface standards) and processing (data

mining and food quality diagnosis).

Real-time records at all stages will become commonplace, and

will require advanced information and communication tech-

nology for data security.

We also identiied the need for a culture in which:

• producers and agribusinesses take responsibility for food safety,
  are proactive rather than reactive and implement “global best
  practice”;


• they employ a risk analysis framework involving science-based
  assessment, policy-based management and open communica-
  tion;


• unannounced audits requiring real-time data will be common-
  place and welcome; and


• better labelling will meet consumer demands for transparency
  and sustainability.
  Integrated supply web assurance through government and
  industry collaboration will allay community concerns about food
  safety and quality, and engender trust. Reputation is all impor-
  tant. It is extremely diicult to regain consumer conidence once
  it is tarnished (as shown in recent food scandals). Consumer trust
  is essential.
  Unfortunately, public perception of risks in food safety is not
  the same as actual risks. Attitudes to food safety are often inlu-
  enced by values rather than by logic and technical information. Thus
  when information is “complex”, people tend to make “emotional”
  judgements.
  New and potentially risky technology, such as genetic modi-
  ication, needs to demonstrate considerable “beneits” to producers
  and consumers to overcome misperceptions (such as genetic modi-
  ication being common in fruit and vegetables, when that is not
  true).
  Professor Kaye Basford FTSE is a Vice President and Director of ATSE and chairs its International
  Strategy Group. She is Professor of Biometry at the University of Queensland and a Board
  Trustee of the International Rice Research Institute and a Director of the Crawford Fund.

Food Safety Rests on Four Interlocking Issues

Systems, technology, culture and trust are essential elements of safety in our food supply.

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