MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE FOOD INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF GUANGDONG AND THE AGRIFOOD CLUSTE-ER OF EMILIA-ROMAGNA

The Memorandum of understanding that will be signed between the Food Industry Association of Guangdong and the Agrifood Cluste-ER of Emilia-Romagna Region follows the institutional agreement signed by the Emilia-Romagna Region during the institutional mission of the Regional Government in May 2015.

The 2015 agreement promoted cooperation on research and innovation in food security among research centres and other institutions of both territories.

In the framework of the agreement is also the World Food Research & Innovation Forum, the initiative promoted by the Emilia-Romagna Region since 2014 with the aim to create a global platform to involve international experts in defining shared strategies on food safety, security and sustainability.

The agreement will be signed at the opening of the joint seminar "Food security in the new silk road" organized next 20 November in collaboration with the for Foreign Affairs Office of Guangdong Province and the General Consolate of Guangdong, as a closed-door meeting in Guangzhou for the official visit of the Emilia-Romagna institutional delegation. During the workshop, representatives of governments, researchers and professionals from both sides will meet and identify specific security issues.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Agrifood Clust-ER of Emilia-Romagna and the Food Safety Association of Guangdong, therefore represents a concrete output of the institutional agreement signed in 2015 and is born to strengthen co-operation in regulation, innovation and training in food safety and identify the possibility of exchanging knowledge and transferring technologies between stakeholders.

The thematic areas of collaboration are:

• Food security and traceability in agriculture and primary production
• Food safety and traceability in processes, products and nutrition

Among the collaboration activities the agreement foreseen joint research project, the sharing of information and study visits.

Both parties will be invited to participate in the initiatives promoted under the World Food Research & Innovation Forum, the international forum for Food Research and Innovation.

For the Emilia-Romagna Region the agreement will be signed by Professor Arnaldo Dossena, President of Regional AgriFood Clust-ER and for the Chinese counterpart by Mr ZHANG Junxiu, President of Food Industry Association del Guangdong.