Technological innovation has streamlined many aspects of business and society in general. Tech startups touch on everything from new ways to brew beer to making new apps which, with just a couple of taps on a smartphone, make cattle farming easier.
However, what is lacking is a global initiative from governments and major companies to make a dent into food safety protocols. The newly-opened Mars Global Food Safety Center is changing all that.
The idea of a global hub to advance science, technology, and education in food safety was first brought up five years ago amidst the melamine milk scandal in China which greatly unsettled their partners in the country.
Dave Crean, VP for corporate R&D at Mars, wrote in The Guardian that "leaders within Mars realized that the needed technological breakthroughs in food safety simply weren't materializing - it seemed like food safety science hadn't really progressed since the 1960s."
Mars also came out with a press release announcing the completion of the $15 million facility located to the north of Beijing in China. In here, the company expressed that, "We believe that addressing food safety challenges will lead to better access, availability and nutrition, reducing food waste and increasing overall quality of life for generations of families around the world."
But they cannot do it alone. The center calls on academics, governments, NGOs, and even competitors to collaborate with them because food safety benefits the global population. There are sabbatical positions available in the center for academic and regulatory researchers in addition to the 30 associates already working there.
Harold Schmitz, chief science officer at the company, wrote to Food Quality News that, "It is mandatory to have an interaction of some sort between companies and the government to work together and have cross sector collaboration to understand the latest science and how that can be applied in food safety."
What are your opinions of global food safety? If you think the Mars Global Food Safety Center is just the first step in securing our food supply safety, then share this article!
