Youkyung Oh was appointed as the first chairman of APFRAS

Minister of MFDS

Adoption of the 'Seoul Declaration', which pledges to strengthen the close cooperation system among member countries

On the 10th and 11th, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (Minister Oh Yookyung) held the 1st Asia-Pacific Food Regulatory Authority Heads Consultative Meeting (APFRAS 2023), where 7 countries came together to harmonize global food regulations in the Asia-Pacific region and strengthen cooperation.

 

said to have collected.

 

APFRAS (Asia-Pacific Food Regulatory Authority Summit) is participated by New Zealand, Vietnam, Singapore, China, Philippines, Korea, and Australia.

 

On the 11th, Korea was elected as the first chair of APFRAS at a meeting of heads of food regulatory agencies from seven countries, and Minister Oh You-keong of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety was appointed as chair.

 

As the chair, Korea established a secretariat, operated a working group, and communicated among member countries for three years.

 

do The member countries adopted the Operational Regulations (TOR) following the establishment of APFRAS, and also resolved implementation tasks for the operation of the working group and achievement of strategic goals.

 

In the future, the APFRAS working group will analyze the food regulatory environment in the Asia-Pacific region and discuss in-depth discussions on the digitalization of food safety management and carbon neutrality in the food sector.

 

In addition, for food safety, we agreed to rapidly analyze new global issues and respond cooperatively to changes in the international food environment, and urge the strengthening of the cooperative system to create a safe food distribution environment in the Asia-Pacific region and solve common tasks.

 

The Declaration was adopted and signed by all seven member states.

 

It was agreed to hold the APFRAS meeting once a year to continue the close cooperation system among member countries, and the second APFRAS meeting in 2024 is scheduled to be held in Seoul, Korea, which was elected as the chair country.

 

Minister of Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Oh Youkyung discussed with Lim Kok Thai, head of the Food and Drug Administration of Singapore, to conclude a food safety cooperation agreement (MOU) to draw common interests between the two countries, such as standards for new food raw materials, and to strengthen cooperation between the two organizations.

 

Director Oh said, "With the launch of APFRAS, the world's first head of a food regulatory agency gathered in one place to discuss various issues related to global food safety and achieve meaningful results by agreeing on strengthening capabilities among regulatory agencies." Director Oh said, "As I was elected as the APFRAS chairman, I will do my best so that Korea can play a leading role in quickly identifying new food safety issues and changes and raising the level of food safety in member countries.

 

I will try,” he said.

 

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety will continue to lead international cooperation and regulatory harmonization for food safety and continue discussions to resolve non-tariff barriers.

 

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