Wellington, November 1 The food safety regulatory agencies of China and New Zealand Friday signed an agreement to strengthen cooperation in food safety and quality.

The Arrangement between New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) was signed in Wellington by CFDA vice minister Liu Peizhi and MPI deputy director general Carol Barnao.

The agreement will see the establishment of a Joint Food Safety Commission, which would permit MPI and the CFDA to meet annually to help build a better understanding of how each other’s food safety systems worked.

Nikki Kaye (New Zealand Food Safety Minister), said the agreement would encourage cooperation and the sharing of information in the fields of food safety, risk management, food standards and rules.

The agreement would more build on the strong relationship between the 2 countries, particularly in the agricultural and food sectors.

The agreement comes in a year that has seen New zealand food exports to China hammered by MPI export certification bungles and dairy contamination scares, including the false alarm over Fonterra’s botulis.