-
Carrots, vegetables - Source: ONE News -
Watch Video
A visiting European expert in food chain verification says Kiwi exporters are going to face increasing levels of auditing and testing in order to get their goods into global markets.
Jeff Newell of Geneva based verification agency SGS Agricultural Services says the change is all about food chain transparency. Consumers are increasingly demanding to know what they are eating, where it came from and how it got there.
"It's about food safety, it's about using resources to the best way possible, it's about worker safety so that we know that what ends up on our plate is grown in a sustainable way, and has been verified," he says.
He says the demand for transparency will rise as consumers become more interested in the origins of their food. And, he says those companies undertaking voluntary auditing will have a competitive advantage.
"It is and it will continue to be part of marketing food products all over the world," he says.
Newell says increased transparency and choosing to audit
products will help New Zealand boost its export markets.
