The Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Svein Ludvigsens speech at the 3rd Japan- Norway Seafood Safety seminar organized by the Norwegian Seafood Export Council and the Japanese Fisheries Association in Tokyo, Japan on the 22 July 2005.

It is a great pleasure for me to be back in Tokyo attending the 3 ^rd> Japan- Norway Seafood Safety seminar. Two years ago I was here at the first seminar presenting the policies of the Norwegian government in the area of seafood safety. The seminar in 2003 was the first in what I hope will become a tradition contributing to our co-operation in the seafood area. To see so many of you here today is a confirmation that Japan and Norway has a lot to learn from each other in this important area.

Looking back in history, this tells us that food safety and food quality always have been important. Quality and safety, today measured by the exact level of infective agents or contaminants, was earlier controlled by the hands, eyes and nose of the experienced inspector or buyer.

Already in the 9 ^th> century, cod from Lofoten in Norway was salted and dried in order to make it safe to export to distant trade partners to Italy and other Mediterranean countries. Both Japan and Norway has a long-standing seafood tradition – Norway as one of the largest exporters in the world, Japan as the largest seafood importer.

Yesterday I met President Nakasu in the Japan Fisheries Association, and we both agreed that seafood trade is more and more global, and we all will benefit of cooperation on traceability, international safety standards and fair trade regulations. Being two of the leading seafood nations in the world, we have a common responsibility and interest in responding to the needs and demands of importers and consumers with regard to the safety and quality of our seafood.

The past, present and future of Norway are intimately linked to the sea. This fact is recognized in the vision of the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affair: The riches of the sea - Norway’s future. Among our marine resources the seafood plays a most important part.

As long as our fisheries and fishfarming are properly managed they will continue to provide prosperity to our society in the future, long after the depletion of non-renewable resources, like oil and gas.To fulfil our vision we have to document that the food is safe and of good quality, and the food safety issue is of course of major importance to me.

As a small country Norway depends on international co-operation to exercise influence on development of international food safety standards that will ensure predictable conditions for international trade with seafood. Important arenas in this respect are FAO and Codex Alimentarius, where Norway is chairing the committee on fish.

Yesterday I met four members of the Japan Food Safety Commission, and among them also President Dr. Terada, and again, - Japan and Norway, on a political level as well as on a scientific level, must share experiences and research and then learn from each other in both risk assessment and risk management.

Other important international arenas are WHO and WTO, where the implementation of the agreements on sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade is of primary importance. Through our membership in the European Economic Ares, norwegian laws on food safety are harmonised with the relevant laws of the European union. Having said that, we all know that seafood safety is not first and foremost about government rules and regulations. It is both facts and emotions. Both very important when we talk and deal with seafood safety.

The basis for all our efforts, government and private companies alike, is the consumer’s confidence in the safety and quality of the seafood. Consumer confidence is not to be taken for granted, but has to be earned. I would like to linger on an incident I believe illustrates my point quite well. In January last year the well known American magazine “Science” published an article focusing on the levels of dioxins and PCB in farmed salmon.

The authors of the article claimed that eating farmed salmon would increase the risk of cancer. Their results were heavily criticized by experts and risk assessment authorities all over the world. Among others the US, EU and Norwegian food safety authorities made statements confirming the safety of farmed salmon and rejecting the advice from the authors of the article.

Even though the results were rejected by most researchers and authorities, the article did substantial damage to the salmon farming industry, not only in Norway, but worldwide. Norway followed an active information strategy to reduce the negative impact from the Science article. The Norwegian authorities and the Norwegian Seafood Export Council actively informed consumers in many countries including Spain on the safety of Norwegian salmon. What we saw was that this information strategy paid off. Today the salmon consumption in Spain has recovered, and is actually higher than “pre- Science” level. The consumer preference for Norwegian Salmon has also increased in this period.

Nevertheless, for me this illustrates the vulnerability of seafood producing nations to misleading information.

I believe that all seafood producing and consuming nations have a common interest in providing balanced information to consumers on the safety and health benefits form eating fish and seafood. I addressed this issue in an international round table conference in Norway last year. The conference 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, preparations are under way for an “Seafood and Health Conference” in Washington D.C., U.S.A. in December 2005 with the aim to further advance public knowledge and understanding of the role seafood plays in human health.

What can we learn from this incident? I think the most important learning is the need for transparency and information to consumers. And that we must be ready to do it at once. To wait , is to late! We have to recognize that the consumer is a major stakeholder in food safety and work actively to ensure that consumer concerns are taken seriously. We can not expect consumers to understand the details of all food safety issue, but we have to provide balanced information on safety and health benefits to the consumers of eating fish and seafood and we want to convey thorough and independent documentation and information.

The challenges are global and we need to exchange knowledge, to coordinate and to cooperate with the aim to improve the dialogue between producers, consumers and the national food authorities. The subject of today’s seminar is in this respect very important. Traceability of seafood is a key instrument to establish a flow of information following the products through the distribution chain. It provides the makers of seafood the ability to “speak” with their end users and assure them of the safety of the product. The origin and history of the product can be told, giving the buyer the assurance they seek.

Traceability also provides us with an efficient tool to withdraw products from the marked if a situation that merits this should occur.

All in all, traceability increases our possibilities of earning the consumers confidence, and thus enables us to be better prepared to handle situations that question the safety of our seafood. Different traceability systems applying to food safety are already in place in a number of countries. Norwegian seafood exporters are faced with such regulations exporting to both EU and US. We feel that it is important to develop international agreed principles for traceability applicable to food safety, and we are therefore taking active part in the work going on in Codex Alimentarius in order to develop such principles.

Food is becoming more and more globally traded. Also in the seafood industry we see that raw materials as well as finished products are traded between countries more and more.

This makes the point of transparency and trace ability even more important. Building trust to a consumer several thousand miles away is more difficult than doing the same to a consumer geographically close to you. International co-operation is the only answer to this. Only by sharing information and agreeing on international standards can we make consumers confident on the safety of our products.

Today’s seminar is therefore very important. The fact that Japan and Norway are discussing issues like this, sharing information and learning from each other, is one step towards building common understanding and establishing systems leading to increased trust from our most important stake holders; the consumers.

Ladies and gentlemen, I discussed these questions, among others, with your Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mr. Yoshinobu SHIMAMURA. Market access, the consumers confidents, sustainable management of the resources, and an eco-system approach to harvest the cold, and clear water in Norway are important elements in our policy as the worlds 3. largest seafood exporter. We have learned that the Japanese consumers know the value of the best quality, and that safe seafood is the only lasting key to the world's most important fish market. I am very confident by recommending Norwegian salmon, mackerel and other fish products to Japan, knowing you get value for money.