Opening by the Norwegian Minister of Fisheries- and Coastal Administration Svein Ludvigsen - FAO/IOC/WHO Expert Consultation on Biotoxins in Molluscan Bivalves at the National Veterinary Institute, Oslo, Norway, 27 September 2004.

Distinguished Delegates, Dear friends of seafood,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the Norwegian Government it is a great pleasure for me to welcome you all to Oslo and to this expert consultation under the Codex Alimentarius.

The past, present and future of Norway is intimately linked to the sea. This fact is recognised in the Ministry of Fisheries vision: The riches of the sea – Norway’s future. Among our marine resources the seafood plays a most important part. Properly managed our fisheries and aquaculture will continue to provide prosperity to our society in the future, long after the depletion of non-renewable resources, like oil and gas.

Modern aquaculture is only thirty years old. From its feeble start, the farming of salmon has developed into a full-scale modern industrial fairytale. Its success is due to a number of reasons, but it could not have happened without a considerable effort in research. The domestication of new species can take years of research. To ensure competitiveness in the marked once the basic problems of production is solved, we depend on the necessary scientific and technical knowledge. Research is the seed corn from which we harvest a plentiful crop in modern aquaculture.

The safety of our seafood is of major concern to Me. The article on contaminants in salmon published by Science in January, illustrate the vulnerability of seafood producing nations to misleading information. I believe that all seafood producing nations have common interests in providing balanced information to the consumer on safety and health benefits from eating fish and seafood.

On My initiative an international round table conference for politicians and policy-makers on consumer information concerning seafood as safe and healthy food was arranged in June this year. The meeting agreed upon the importance of scientifically based facts and figures when dealing with challenges of knowledge and information in the future. It was also agreed to establish a network across borders between relevant authorities and research institutions. Furthermore, preparation is under way to arrange an international conference in Washington in 2006 on seafood with the aim to further advancing public knowledge and understanding of the role seafood plays in human health.

You are gathered here today to provide scientific advice to the Codex Committee of Fish and Fishery Products (CCPPF) on questions related to presence of bio-toxins in shellfish.

This is no small task.

In Norway, the modern production of shellfish started during the 1980ies. The birth pains of this industry showed, however, soon to be much greater than expected. Among the major obstacles were the bio-toxins that made predictable delivery of shellfish to the markets very difficult. After setbacks in the 1990ies I am pleased to observe that the industry is again moving forward.

Today a bright and promising future for the shellfish industry is part of our vision for the development of modern aquaculture in Norway.

However, the future success of the cultivation of shellfish depends on at least three main elements:

The knowledge to produce safe products of high quality in a cost-effective way,

Consumers that are confident in the safety as well as the quality of the products, and

Predictable access to the markets.

You and your work play an important role in all these aspects. In a nutshell, this is the reason that the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries has contributed financially to the arrangement of this expert consultation.

The discussions at this conference will be centred around the knowledge of presence of various bio-toxins, the detection of them, maximum levels, and besides, monitoring of the toxin producing planktons in the sea. All these aspects are of greatest importance for the further development of the shellfish industry, not only in Norway, but worldwide.

Without you neither the industry nor the administration can succeed. A product can only survive in the markets if the consumers are willing to buy it. The consumers’ preferences can be both complex and unpredictable. But if the safety of the food can be questioned, then all other properties are of little avail. Even the suspicion of a food safety problem may have immediate effects in the markets.

In the evaluation of food safety the trustworthiness of the evaluation itself counts. Your research is essential to provide knowledge for proper risk evaluation and risk management.

The basic question in providing access to markets is how to demonstrate that a product complies with the appropriate sanitary level and quality. The question is simple; the answer has proven to be difficult.

However, through the development of international standards the Codex Alimentarius Commission, develops the “yard stick” that is needed. The importance of this work is fully recognised by the WTO, where Codex Alimentarius Commission is one of the three major bodies for standardisation, (the two other being the International Animal Health Organisation (OIE) and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)).

Your work here today represents the basis for the development of international trade standards for shellfish. This work will in the end benefit us all.

Concluding remarks

The history and future of Norway is intimately linked to the sea. The seafood is an important part of our marine resources and the trade in seafood is in fact our second largest export industry after oil and gas.

The shellfish industry has a great potential in future development of Norwegian aquaculture. We recognize the importance of your work here today and we are impressed by the great amount of work you are supposed to undertake in such a short period of time.

I am grateful for your important contribution to the development of a Codex Standard on Live and Processed Bivalve Molluscs and I wish you all a successful meeting.

Thank you for your attention.