STUST has adhered to the tenet of fulfilling the social responsibility of the university and maintaining food safety in Tainan. On the 7th day of October, the 6th Southern Taiwan Food Safety Forum were held at the Niantz International Conference Hall of STUST. The opening speeches of the forum was delivered by Director Yi-lin Hsu of the Bureau of Health, Tainan City Government, and Vice President Chi-liang Chu of STUST. There were three themes: Overview and Management of Imported Food in Taiwan, Trends of Imported Food Management at Home and Abroad, Practices of Source Management of Imported Food by Food Manufacturers. Nine representatives from industry, government, and academia were invited to serve as moderators and speakers. There were 120 representatives from the public sector, food industry, and consumers. People from all walks of life were involved in food safety issues.

【A group photo of all the Honorable guests and attendees of the 6th Southern Taiwan Food Safety Forum】

Following the theme of all the preceding forums—Food Safety Risk Management (1st), Law and Industry Self-management (2nd), Retrospect and Prospect (3rd), The Future of Food Safety Culture (4th), Prevention Against Food Fraud and Vision of Food Safety in Taiwan (5th), the theme of the 6th forum was not only the continuation of the previous discussion on prevention against food fraud and Taiwan's food safety vision, but also a theme focused on the regulations and management of food import management. The participants discussed in a fair and objective manner, hoping to gather the opinions of industry, government, and academia and reach a consensus. They also hoped to follow the policies of the central government policy, assist food industry to implement self-management in import inspection and import management measures, safeguard food hygiene and safety, help improve the food safety management system of Tainan City, and ensure that imported food and related products be both legal and guaranteed. All these would make consumers feel much easier and maintain the reputation of Tainan as a city of great food.

【A group photo of all the distinguished guests of the 6th Southern Taiwan Food Safety Forum】

The topic of the morning session was “Overview and Management of Imported Foods in Taiwan.” The opening session was chaired by Distinguished Prof. Chang-wei Shie from the Department of Food and Applied Biotechnology, National Chung Hsing University. The session invited Zi-ting Liao, Section Chief of Food Import Management Section, Ministry of Health and Welfare, and Guan-zheng Li, audit of the Kaohsiung Office from the custom house of Kaohsiung Port Guan, to discuss the mechanism and progress of Taiwan's imported food management as well as the practice of Taiwan's imported food inspection and management.

【Director Yi-lin Hsu of the Bureau of Health, Tainan City Government, was delivering a speech.】

The first session in the afternoon held a discussion on "Trends in Imported Food Management at Home and Abroad," which invited Honorary Prof. Ming-chang Wu from the Department of Food Science, Pingtung University of Science and Technology, to open the session, followed by a talk of Prof. Zhi-gang Luo of the Institute of Food Safety Management, Pingtung University of Science and Technology, on the future vision of imported food management in Taiwan, and another talk by Prof. Gui-rong Ni, Director of the TPP and Transnational Economic and Trade Law Research Center of Yang Ming Jiaotong University, who discussed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and imported food safety.

【Chi-liang Chu, Vice President of STUST, was delivering a speech.】

In the afternoon, the second session of "Food Industry Imported Food Source Management Practices" invited Chairman Jia-sheng Yeh of Chinese Food Safety Control System Development Association to open the session. Jia-wei Chang, Chief Operating Officer of Chuanjia Quality Verification Consultant Co., Ltd., and Jun-jie Tseng, Deputy Manager of Food Safety Center of Kaiyuan Food Industry Co., Ltd., shared the practical experience of food industry importing food source management. At the end of the forum, the representatives of industry, government and academia, as well as the guests and industry players gathered to communicate and exchange opinions. It is expected that the food industry can continue to manage independently according to its regulations and the reasons for risk assessment when importing food and related products, and look forward to maintaining food safety in the future.

Deng-mao Lu, President of STUST, said that this forum discussed the source management of imported food from a professional and objective perspective, and strengthened the importance of source control. It hoped to reach a consensus from among the valuable opinions of the industry, government, and academia and help the food industry formulate an applicable self-management model and an effective food safety monitoring plan. STUST will continue to assist the Bureau of Health, Tainan City Government, and jointly maintain the hygiene, safety, and quality of food in Taiwan, so that consumers can eat with ease while Taiwan maintains the reputation of being a city of great food.