Research on Agri-Food Private Brands for Securing Reliability of Food Traceability

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1.The Requirements of Food Assurance Schemes in Improving Food SafetyThe first research examined the requirements of food assurance schemes in order to improve food safety. The research analyzed Assured Food Standards (AFS) in the UK. a)In AFS schemes, every step in the whole food chain is inspected by independent inspection bodies. The independent inspections provide credibility and transparency for the schemes. b)UKAS accreditation ensures that AFS schemes are truly independent from farmers and producers. c)The AFS standards are considerably higher than the legal minimum. The AFS standards have strict requirements for veterinary health plans, salmonella monitoring, traceability of feedstuffs and seeds, welfare of livestock, livestock transport schemes, detailed record-keeping of pesticide application and all medicines administrated, and prevention of anti-biotic growth promoters. d)Beef, milk, pigs, and chicken schemes in AFS have traceability systems through the whole food chain. Th … More ese schemes require detailed record-keeping procedures for feedstuffs, cattle movement, flock movement, and pesticide use.2.Food assurance schemes and food self-sufficiencyThe second research examined the relationship between the climate change impacts on Japanese food production, food self-sufficiency and food assurance schemes. a)The research investigated the projected impacts of climate change on food production. Field experiments showed there was a close linkage between the decrease in rice yield and the increase in mean minimum temperature. b)Japanese food self-sufficiency is highly dependent on imported foods which are mainly supplied from limited countries, such as the US, Australia and China. Japanese food supply is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events. There is an increased concern about insecurity in food supply and food frauds under the warming climate. c)The case studies of JAS production information system and JA's Zenno Anshin System suggest that food assurance schemes can verify origins and food safety of domestic foods. These schemes could provide a competitive edge for domestic assured foods in relation with imported foods. Less