11-12-11 *US Dept of State* Creation of Global Food Safety Partnership

On November 12, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Honolulu, Hawaii, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs Robert Hormats participated in an event marking the creation of the world’s first Global Food Safety Fund, hosted by U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk. Created with $1 million pledged by an innovative public-private partnership, the proposed fund will be managed by the World Bank and will leverage the tripartite approach pioneered in APEC that enlists a wide range of stakeholders in training programs designed to enhance food safety and to facilitate trade. These programs will enable more growers, producers, and food safety officials to understand and utilize preventive controls – resulting in safer food for consumers and fewer safety incidents in food trade.

The creation of a Global Food Safety Fund has been made possible by generous seed money from the private sector, including Mars Incorporated and Waters Corporation, as well as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).  Once implemented, it will take forward the strong collaboration between the APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum and the World Bank, which was formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding signed at the APEC meetings in Big Sky, Montana in May 2011.  This collaboration seeks to improve food safety competencies, laboratory proficiency, and risk-based management systems in APEC economies and then, globally.