Asean group urges speedy food standards

A regional grouping of food and beverage stakeholders seeks to fast-track the harmonization of food standards, particularly nutritional labeling, in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), saying it is key to the industry’s growth. 

The Asean Food and Beverage Alliance (Afba) is a group of national and regional associations, federations, and organizations involved in the manufacture, distribution and sale of food and non-alcoholic beverage products in the Asean region.

In a recent presentation, Sunny Koh, Afba chair for Singapore, noted that the region’s food industry-which employs more than four million people through 300,000 companies, of which 95 percent are small, medium, and large enterprises (SMEs)-plays a vital role in the region’s advancement.

“The success of Asean’s efforts to stimulate the free flow of food products across the region, and more widely across the globe, is extremely important for the overall economic development of the region,” he said.

He further pointed out that with common food standards, cross-border integration and the region’s full potential will be more quickly realized.

As it stands, Koh said, food regulations are currently not aligned, noting the rise of technical barriers to trade (TBT) that adversely impact manufacturers, regulators, and consumers.

In his talk, he identified nutritional labeling as topping the list of five priority TBTs that their alliance is working to overcome together with regional governments.

For Asean food producers, disparate labeling regulations pad costs and cause delays in production as they attempt to comply with requirements to use different languages on the nutrition information panel and provide a long ingredients list, among others.

Non-harmonized rules on labeling also entail duplication of documentation, necessitate a longer printing time, and hinder research and development. SMEs in particular are at disadvantage since they don’t have the resources needed to train and hire staff knowledgeable in regulatory affairs, said Koh.

For regulators, labeling contradictions force them to spend extra time and resources in resolving confusion and correcting errors. They must also deal with companies seeking clarity on interpretations in different markets.

Consumers are affected as well, as they navigate through cluttered and hard-to-read food labels and try to comprehend misleading meanings in stickers, for instance. The prices of foodstuff also become inflated, choices become limited, and supply and availability of products turn unpredictable.

Aside from nutritional labeling, the other top four TBTs identified by Koh are those dealing with import/export certification and product registration, contaminant levels, authorization of new food additives and flavors, and differing analytical methods for contaminants.

Koh said that arriving at a “one size fits all” solution won’t be possible unless standards and regulations are aligned first.

To do this, the association is calling for Asean member countries to accelerate harmonization through mutual recognition of country standards and greater use of international standards recognized by the World Trade Organization, including the Food Codex, ISO standards, and International Organization of Legal Metrology standards.

It also urged the promotion of “a risk-oriented, science-based approach” to standards development and approval processes, and cited the need for improved multi-stakeholder dialogue on regulatory developments that might impact business.

Launched in 2013, the Afba aims to facilitate trade in and beyond Asean by supporting and accelerating Asean harmonization for the benefit of SMEs as well as regional consumers. The Afba’s member organization in the country is the Philippine Chamber of Food Manufacturers.