New Delhi, Sep 21 (IANS): Asia is responsible for a significant portion of the world's food production, said Anupriya Patel, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, on Saturday, while stressing the need to ensure food safety and promote health.

She was speaking at the ongoing Second Edition of Global Food Regulators Summit 2024 hosted by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) alongside the World Food India 2024 event being organised by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries at Bharat Mandapam, in New Delhi.

“The Asian region is responsible for a significant portion of the world's food production. With this prominence comes the responsibility to ensure food safety, promote health, and uphold fair trade practices that align with international standards,” Patel said.

The regional conclave aims to boost regional collaboration and harmonisation in food safety and standard-setting process.

Patel said that the conclave “is a vital milestone in our collective journey towards a safer and healthy food system for not just our region, but also for the entire world”.

To address challenges to comply with international food safety standards, Patel urged the need to boost “regional collaboration” as “only through unity and cooperation can we elevate the region's role in shaping international food standards.”

Patel also emphasised the importance of developing standards in new and emerging sectors. She called for developing standards “for areas like aquaculture, processed foods, and organic farming while addressing new technologies like biotechnology and sustainable farming.

“These advancements are critical as we strive to make our food systems safe, more resilient, and sustainable for the future,” the MoS said.

G. Kamala Vardhan Rao, CEO, FSSAI stated that the challenges faced by countries in Asia are different from those in the other regions of the world.

The CEO called the event “an opportune time for discussing those regional-level issues that can have global impacts”.