The meeting brought together more than 70 representatives of different nut and dried fruit organizations and companies such as FRUCOM (Belgium), Syndicat National des Fruits Secs SNFS (France), the National Dried Fruit Trade Association NDFTA (UK), Hazelnut Processors and Exporters Association of Georgia, Fruitimprese (Italy), NZV (Netherlands), Spanish Almond Board, Aegean Exporters Associations (AEA), Blacksea Exporters Association, Istanbul Exporters Associations, Almond Board of California, DFA of California, the US Embassy in Berlin, the US mission of the EU and the US Agricultural Research Service.
This year, the topics covered by the agenda included a report of activities by FRUCOM and the Waren Verein, dried fruit sector outlook in Turkey, food fraud and authenticity, and trade barriers worldwide. FRUCOM reported about RASFF notifications, import controls, Commission Regulation 669/2009, Ochratoxin A, pesticides, and the status quo of two key food additives for the dried fruit industry: sorbates and sulphites. The Waren-Verein gave a presentation about their activities, the import value of Waren-Verein products, current challenges, and claims and demands from importers. AEA gave an statistical overview of production, exports, and consumption of dried fruits in Turkey, crop quality of the 2017/2018 season, and activities regarding sulphites and Ochratoxin A.
The second part of the meeting revolved around food authenticity and food fraud. This issue was addressed by recognized experts Dr. Oliver Frandrup-Kuhr, Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety, Dr. Wolfgang Weber, Institut für Produktqualität, and Dr. Peter Rinke, SGF International e.V. Dr. Frandrup-Kuhr summarized what are the different administrative bodies’ networks to fight against food fraud. Dr. Weber presented examples of how food fraud is detected by scientific methods. Dr. Rinke showed why the Voluntary Control System is an efficient system against food fraud. The issue of the trade barriers was discussed by Ms. Gosia Binczyk, European Commission Representation in Germany, Ms. Brooke L. William, US-Embassy in Germany, and Mr. Reinhard Pfender, Special Trade Policy (EU/WTO). The panel discussion was moderated by Ms. Julia Sen, NDR Fernsehen.
This year, the topics covered by the agenda included a report of activities by FRUCOM and the Waren Verein, dried fruit sector outlook in Turkey, food fraud and authenticity, and trade barriers worldwide. FRUCOM reported about RASFF notifications, import controls, Commission Regulation 669/2009, Ochratoxin A, pesticides, and the status quo of two key food additives for the dried fruit industry: sorbates and sulphites. The Waren-Verein gave a presentation about their activities, the import value of Waren-Verein products, current challenges, and claims and demands from importers. AEA gave an statistical overview of production, exports, and consumption of dried fruits in Turkey, crop quality of the 2017/2018 season, and activities regarding sulphites and Ochratoxin A.
The second part of the meeting revolved around food authenticity and food fraud. This issue was addressed by recognized experts Dr. Oliver Frandrup-Kuhr, Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety, Dr. Wolfgang Weber, Institut für Produktqualität, and Dr. Peter Rinke, SGF International e.V. Dr. Frandrup-Kuhr summarized what are the different administrative bodies’ networks to fight against food fraud. Dr. Weber presented examples of how food fraud is detected by scientific methods. Dr. Rinke showed why the Voluntary Control System is an efficient system against food fraud. The issue of the trade barriers was discussed by Ms. Gosia Binczyk, European Commission Representation in Germany, Ms. Brooke L. William, US-Embassy in Germany, and Mr. Reinhard Pfender, Special Trade Policy (EU/WTO). The panel discussion was moderated by Ms. Julia Sen, NDR Fernsehen.