Alþjóðleg ráðstefna um örugg og heilnæm matvæli á Hótel Nordica 15. október 2004

Dear conference participants

The highlight of the Icelandic Presidency in the Nordic Council on Food Safety is without doubt this International Conference on Safe and Wholesome Food. Our aim for this conference was to provide a forum where the different perspectives of food safety and wholesome food would be brought to the table and discussed. I sincerely hope that we have succeeded in our endeavour to look at the matter from the point of view of consumers, the industry, the surveying authorities and the relevant international organisations.

The presentations have provided us with very useful information brought forward by people with unique knowledge in the field. We have during the last two days attempted to shed a light on where we stand as food producers and furthermore what should be our priority actions in the months and years ahead in order to ensure that the Nordic countries keep their leading edge in fostering food safety and wholesome food. Your contribution during this conference has been extremely helpful towards that goal.

I believe that the Nordic countries are in the forefront regarding food safety and wholesomeness. Nevertheless, it is necessary for us to acquire a better overview of the present situation in a broader context than what relates to the Nordic countries. In our present age of the well informed consumer, the society's requirements are constantly increasing regarding processing methods, labelling and general consumer information. Therefore we must ensure that laws and regulations in this field will take fully into account the consumer needs. The present time demands that the food we consume is both safe and wholesome.

Due to increasing international trade in food products enhanced cooperation and integration of methods for risk assessment and risk management for food safety must be pursued not only within the food sector of each country but also in the international community as a whole.

Last August the Nordic Food Ministers approved in Akureyri a Declaration on Food, in which enhanced cooperation of Nordic countries in the field of food and common emphasis clearly emerged.

In the Akureyri Declaration on Food, the Nordic Food Ministers reiterate that to achieve set goals on a sustainable food chain "from farm to fork", encompassing the health and welfare of animals along with the quality and safety of food, the legislation on food safety must be based on the main principles of risk assessment. Both internal quality control of food companies and government inspections must be efficient. Emphasis must be placed on surveillance of the environment and food at all stages of production covering the entire food chain from "farm to fork".

Under the auspices of Nordic cooperation on food, the first category of bearings for the sustainable development of food has been developed in the report titled "Sustainable development of food safety – new bearings in the Nordic countries".

Indicators on food safety are useful tools to monitor whether trends are in the right direction and may also be utilized as instructions on risk assessment in the future. The food ministers were also unanimous in strengthening Nordic cooperation on food research, having in mind the benefit for the whole population as specific target as well as groups.

I deem it extremely important for the Nordic countries to continue working together to achieve goals set to ensure consumers a safe and wholesome food. Having been in the forefront on food safety matters, the Nordic countries can make a substantial influence on the development of these matters in international fora. Each individual state must nevertheless be prepared to examine its own organization and administration of food affairs to improve efficiency. In Iceland we plan to meet these challenges by simplifying and strengthening the administration of food matters through the enactment of a single body of legislation on the subject and placing it within one ministry and a single organization.

I would like to use this opportunity to thank the Nordic Council of Ministers for supporting this conference with a generous contribution.

I would also like to thank all the lecturers and participants for their contribution and the chairman of the conference Mr. Grímur Valdimarsson for his important part in leading this conference to a successful conclusion.

With those words I declare this conference closed.