Mr Chairman/Chairmadame
Ladies and Gentlemen
Nordic friends and colleagues

Common to all Nordic countries, despite different relation to the European Union, is that we want to ensure consumers access to safe and healthy food of high quality, and at all times to be able to meet the consumers` requirements and needs. The Nordic countries are major producers of food, and international trade with agricultural and fishery products contribute to a considerable economical income. With reference to the food production policy in Norway, I assume that we can agree upon the following main goals

• The production of safe food of high quality,
• Ensuring the consumer security in regard to long term accessibility to food,
• Ensuring the consumer diversity in regard to the supply of food, and
• To offer the consumer food at an acceptable price in a well functioning market.

A formalised cooperative work between the Nordic countries started through the EFTA alliance in the early nineties. As Sweden and Finland became EU members like Denmark, Norway decided on standing outside the European Union. Norway, is now connected to the European fellowship through the EEA agreement, and all Nordic countries are bound to the same regulations in regard to food production and food trade. Despite certain differences in trade policy, the Nordic countries are committed to the same regulations and the same standard, and in regard to food safety issues, we have all the same interests. In order to strengthen the common Nordic platform, the cooperative work formalised in the nineties was revitalised last year through the establishment of a common Council of Ministers on the food field. The Ministers responsible for the food sector meet annually, while the different relevant committees work continuously on strategies and recommendations following up the political decisions taken.

The food producing industry in the Nordic countries is under constant pressure in regard to the production of novel foods and innovation. This in order to keep up with increasing demands from consumers and increased international competition in the food market. This implies a great challenge on the industry. In order for the industry to gratify the consumers and to be competitive, the products produced must be safe and of high quality. The production of safe food is a prerequisite and a baseline factor in order for the industry to meet the challenges of a modern society. With reference to this elementary condition of food production, combined with the political focus on the food safety issue, I will in the following focus primarily on aspects related to the food safety issue in a Nordic perspective.

The Nordic countries claim that international regulations for the trade of food articles are explicit and clear, and that the food safety aspect is assigned conclusive weight. Food safety is one of three superior prioritised areas for the Executive Committee Programme of the Nordic Council, having the title: The Nordic countries of tomorrow.

Food safety, in the context of embracing the handling and production of food articles from farm to table, is as I mentioned introductorily, an important political issue in all Nordic countries. The production of a high quality food product, is however greatly dependant on the various steps in the production process. Hence, the products when presented to the consumer, may have been exposed to a number factors, as for example foreign substances, infective agents and other in-contact substances.

The level of risk is not static. The latest years food and fodder scandals have taught us that it is not satisfactory to exhibit control just at the end-product level. The Nordic countries like to claim that our products are safe, may be even safer than products from other European countries. In this prospective, we must not forget that, in order to maintain this presumptive comparative advantage, we are obliged to spend time and resources on the generation of a useful and appropriate set of regulations. Also, we need to prioritise and spend resources on scientific research. Both of these issues constitute a challenge to the authorities, and to the industry.

The objective of a safe production offering safe and healthy products to our consumers, must be continued. In order to do so, systems must be in place, ensuring this objective along the whole of the food chain. It is important that possible problems are solved abruptly. Systems ensuring adequate supervision and control, and the development of guidelines is therefore an important and a prioritised task.

Great resources are spent dealing with the food safety issue, and in order to make progress in this field, cooperative work between the Nordic countries is a presupposition. The Nordic countries must coordinate their powers and collaborate, in order to achieve agreement in international bodies where decision-making regarding criterias and standards related to food safety takes place. In this work it is important to take into consideration aspects related to both health, the environment, trade-political and consumer-political aspects.

Under the Norwegian presidency in the Nordic Council of Ministers this year, a project having the aim of preparing a Nordic Plan of Action ensuring improved food safety, has already been launched. The plan is covering the whole food chain, including both agricultural and aquatic products. The plan will be presented on the Food Minister meeting to be held in August 2002, where all food Ministers are present. Non- governmental-organisations are also present on these annual meetings.

It has been agreed upon that the following issues must be prioritised and emphasised in particular:

Firstly,

• To work out a common Nordic platform on the food safetyfield as a mandate for the work in different international fora of relevance. The is to follow up the suggestions in the Nordic strategy of sustainable development aiming at strengthening the Nordic influence on international negotiations and processes on the food safety field.

The following issues of current interest that has to be discussed in particular are:

• Ethical aspects of the transporting of live animals and animal products, hereunder the risk of spreading animal diseases and zoonoses,
• Labelling and trace ability of food articles in general and
• GMO and novel food

Secondly,

• To work out a common Nordic consumer-political action programme. In the Nordic strategy of sustainable development, it is emphasised that the consumers` influence on the development of food policy must be ensured.

A prerequisite for the consumers` ability to influence is:

• Complete openness between the consumers and authorities,
• An open and good dialogue, and that
• Conditions are made such that consumers are given the opportunity to participate actively in organisations and groups having an influence on decision making.

The Nordic countries are also working together in order to strengthen the Nordic cooperative work in regard to risk-communication. We are also aiming at achieving optimal collaboration with international organisations regarding this important issue. With risk-communication we mean the communication between authorities and consumers, about the risk related to the consumption of a certain kinds of food.

The overall goal is to actively involve voluntary, and non-governmental organisations in the process of working out the action plans. Ideas and strategies will be discussed with voluntary organisations before final processing and presentation of a plan to the Ministers in August 2002.

A third aspect

that, from a Norwegian point of view also must be prioritised and emphasised in particular in relation to the Plan of Action ensuring improved food safety is:

• To work out a common Nordic action plan on science and development related to food safety. The goal of such a plan is to stimulate to the generation of a greater level of learning, in order to have an optimal basis of knowledge to carry out risk-evaluation in relation to food and health.

In a globalised world it is of major importance that the basis of legal requirements is scientific and well defined, in order to be predictable. The Nordic countries have a limited amount of resources, and are consequently highly dependant on being able to coordinate and target research recourses. This is a prerequisite in order to exert pressure and contribute to for example Codex Alimentarius and working parties within the EU, dealing with the generation of legal requirements.

By the very fact that the food producing industry is constantly evolving, there is an increasing demand on the industry to think innovative. In order to be able to make sure that novel foods and novel food producing processes are safe, the industry itself also have a responsibility to provide scientific input to the pool of scientific knowledge.

Ladies and gentleman, to sum up: Trough different coordinated efforts, in particular those supported by the Nordic Council, I feel convinced that the results will contribute to a further consolidation of the high food standards we have do have in the Nordic countries. An important assumption is however that we, the authorities, the industry and the consumer organisations, are able to cooperate and thus produce high quality products and high confidence among the consumers.

I wish you all the best !