The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) previously led the Macao representatives and relevant technical personnel in the Task Force for Guangdong-Macao Food Safety Cooperation to visit Dongguan city in Guangdong province and participate in the Guangdong-Macao Food Safety Regulation and Exchange Forum. Discussions on topics such as the technical requirements of food production, food safety standards and regulations and important points on the regulation of emerging food industries in both regions were conducted to further strengthen the technical exchange and cooperation on food safety between the two regions.
 
The Macao delegation consisted of 27 members, who participated in the Guangdong-Macao Food Safety Regulation and Exchange Forum held in Dongguan city in Guangdong province from 30 October to 1 November. A training course and a field trip were offered at the forum. The training course, organised by the Guangdong Institute of Food Inspection, centered on the explanation of the important points on food safety prevention and control in food production enterprises, including the technical requirements of production, regulations on the use of food additives, source-tracing system of food, response to food safety incidents, etc. In recent years, the prepared food industry has developed rapidly. Therefore, the latest technical requirements in multiple areas, such as the control of raw materials in prepared food, industry standards, etc. that are currently in place in Guangdong, were also included in the course. Furthermore, the delegation also visited a factory producing pastry and seasoning in Dongguan to learn about the actual food safety management operation processes in the enterprise on site and exchanged technical opinions on quality control and safety testing items with representatives of the enterprise.
 
Under the “Framework Agreement on Exchange and Cooperation in Food Safety for Macao and Guangdong", IAM and office of the Food Safety Committee of Guangdong Province have continuously strengthened their exchange and cooperation. A training programme for personnel has been set up to provide themed training courses for personnel in different areas of food safety. These courses include “Food Ingredient Identification Training Programme", training course and exchange on research and study of foodborne diseases, etc. Both parties have cooperated through an effective long-term communication mechanism to continuously advance the mutual notification of food safety information and food testing items, etc. In the future, relevant departments in both regions will continue to launch cooperation efforts and jointly improve capabilities in food safety regulation and law enforcement.