The Nordic countries, i.e. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, often have the same approach to food issues. This applies, for example, to what food may contain, control of food in the shops, and animal welfare during breeding and transport. Naturally we work with these questions on an individual basis in our respective countries, however, we also have an active collaboration across the whole Nordic region, not least within the framework of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

The Nordic Council of Ministers is the formal co-operation body of the Nordic countries' governments, and the aim is to find solutions which add value to national efforts. Nordic co-operation has long traditions, and we have achieved many concrete results, especially in the food sector.

We arrange joint emergency response exercises to gain experience on how to deal with infectious diseases in our domestic animals. Disease does not recognise country boundaries, but here we can share each other's knowledge and experience. Food control provides us with great security so that we can go shopping without risk. Every year a Nordic Inspection Conference is organised focusing on the countries’ common problems, exchange of experience etc. The aim is to improve the competencies of those responsible on a daily basis for decisions on food safety in shops and in the companies that produce the food. We also co-operate around recommendations for how much we should eat of certain products.

The Nordic countries have been particularly successful in controlling the occurrence of zoonoses, i.e. diseases transmitted from animals to humans.  For example, for many years Finland, Norway and Sweden have had regulations and an extensive system for controlling salmonella in animals and fodder. This is the main reason that animal-related salmonella is extremely low in the Nordic countries.

In the Nordic countries we believe in transparency in the food industry and that consumers have the right to all relevant information on the food they buy and eat. This strengthens consumer confidence and at the same time acts as an incentive for the industry to produce high quality products under safe and hygienic conditions. For example, we have open labelling schemes in the Nordic countries which provide consumers with information on a product or service. One example is the so-called Smiley system in Denmark, whereby restaurants and bars, amongst others, must hang up a poster with information on production conditions, hygiene and food storage.

Our principles of transparency have contributed to our being able to delegate part of the responsibility for food safety to the industry itself. The national food authorities are primarily responsible for monitoring and ensuring compliance. Our producers and restaurant owners know that it pays, not least financially, to invest in safe and clean products.

We believe that co-operation and exchange of experiences in food safety are of the utmost importance - not least as trade between countries of the world is increasing because of globalisation. By learning from each others’ solutions, but also mistakes, we can ensure that the goods we import and export are safe. For this reason, the Nordic countries, within the framework of the Nordic Council of Ministers, are organising a food forum with ministerial participation during EXPO 2010 in Shanghai at the end of August. The event will be co-hosted with the Chinese General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, AQSIQ. The goal is to exchange experiences with representatives of the Chinese authorities and business community that will contribute to safer products for us and future generations.

The Nordic Ministers for Food,

Henrik Høegh, Denmark
Sirkka-Liisa Anttila, Finland
Jón Bjarnason, Iceland
Lars Peder Brekk, Norway
Eskil Erlandsson, Sweden