Unilever chairman Antony Burgmans calls for action on food safety and sustainable agriculture

Speaking at the congress of the CIAA, the European confederation of agriculture and food industries in Brussels, he proposed that all stakeholders in food safety, such as the agricultural producers, raw materials and ingredient suppliers, food manufacturers, retailers, caterers, consumers, European Food Safety Authority and regulators get involved in this project as they have a joint responsibility.

‘Modern food chains are complex and it is absolutely impossible to hold one player in the chain responsible for the entirety of it. Chain responsibility therefore covers the area that each player can oversee and control. In concrete terms that means that each player in the chain takes responsibility for quality and safety, observance of laws and regulations and full and direct information to the authorities, the trading partner and, if necessary, the public, if something goes wrong’, said Burgmans.

Burgmans expressed firm support for the European Food Safety Authority, which bases its decisions on thorough independent scientific study and which is not a toy for political sentiments.

In addition, he believed that this year steps could be taken in this direction by taking decisions on three important files:

• the addition of vitamins and minerals to foods;
• health claims and claims concerning risk reduction;
• the authorisation of new functional foods.  

Common Agricultural Policy

In the worldwide campaign against poverty and under-development it is clear that donating money to poor countries is simply not enough. International trade as an engine for development coupled with aid for education and infrastructure etc., is critical. Simultaneously we in Europe and elsewhere in the industrialised world will have to radically reform our agricultural policy. The present European Common Agricultural Policy and the Common Fisheries Policy seriously impede structural and sustainable solutions. According to Burgmans the agricultural policy has resulted in quantities of food supply that do not match the demand of quality food. It encourages the over-cropping of valuable agricultural land and the excessive use of fertilisers and crop protection agents. More than € 44 billion of EU tax payer's money is spent on agriculture, without a proper sustainability assessment. And on balance the hard-working farmer doesn't even earn an acceptable income. ‘In all respects it is counter-productive’, he commented. Moreover it frustrates export opportunities for third countries, developing countries in particular.

In his speech, which dealt with consumer needs in the 21st century, Burgmans discussed two mega-trends that are of increasing importance for consumers:

• a growing desire for health and wellness, and
• increasing concern about the environment and the sustainable use of resources, also in view of the strong growth in the world population to 9 billion people 30 years from now.  

Unilever is convinced that a shift in policy thinking is needed. ‘We must be able to guarantee sustainable production if we wish to continue to satisfy the wishes of the consumer and thus survive as an enterprise. In other words: conviction coupled with enlightened self-interest. No fish, no fish fingers. No water, no tea. It’s as simple as that’, said Burgmans. He mentioned four concrete actions that Unilever has taken:

• Together with the Worldwide Fund for Nature, Unilever established the Marine Stewardship Council, an independent organisation which stipulates the criteria for sustainable fishing methods, both technical and social. As from 2005 Unilever will only buy and process fish from sustainable sources.
• Together with partners such as farmers, universities, trade unions and retailers, experiments have been started for the sustainable production of agricultural crops. As an example Burgmans mentioned the production of frozen peas in the United Kingdom. Thanks to these partnerships high qualitative and quantitative standards for pea crops have been maintained, while the use of fertilisers and crop protection agents has been reduced and biodiversity increased.
• In the field of water management Unilever also works together with specialist partners. Internally Unilever has succeeded in just a few years in reducing its water consumption from 1.7 billion to 1.25 billion cubic metres.
• Unilever has opened up its activities to all companies wishing to participate in its efforts to promote sustainable food production. It exchanges concepts with partners in the chain, other food companies with the same objectives and with the authorities and international organisations. As an example Burgmans mentioned the project ‘Internet everyday’ in the Netherlands which shares best practices between agricultural producers. A large group of stakeholders ‘From Farm to Fork' is now committed to sustainable production, using transparent internet applications.

Full text of speech