PwC launches food supply and integrity services in Singapore

Source: PwC website.

PwC Singapore is marking World Food Day by announcing the establishment of its Food Supply and Integrity Services business to help food companies, investors and governments tackle food security, safety and quality concerns.

The Food Supply and Integrity service offering includes corporate governance, supply chain integrity, fraud prevention, traceability, crisis management, regulatory compliance, and transaction services. While PwC does not mention it, these or similar services could conceivably be extended to checking if other meats have been contaminated with traces of pork, or creating a halal assurance programme for food companies.

In line with the theme of this year's World Food Day, Social Protection and agriculture: breaking the cycle of rural poverty, PwC believes that ensuring food availability, accessibility and affordability for the world’s population is a shared responsibility and needs to be taken on by industry, government and service organisations.

Governments are growing their regulatory efforts through increased oversight and sanctions in an attempt to improve food safety to give people greater trust in their food. Given the recent food failures, consumers are also demanding greater transparency on food traceability and the overall food production process. In an accompanying report, Food trust: From compliance to competitive advantage, PwC states: 'Traceability and the demand for more
choice, such as organic and halal products, are creating new standards for compliance, testing and certification across the world."

Julia Leong, Food Supply and Integrity Services Leader, PwC Singapore comments: “As supply chains become increasingly complex, it poses a growing problem across industries, and unfortunately food is an area where supply chain failures can be fatal. Consumers want assurance and transparency from food companies and no longer want to rely on just the brand. The entire food supply chain from farm to fork must be well-controlled in order to be resilient against unforeseen events such as food fraud, intentional contamination and deliberate tampering.”

PwC Singapore is offering its Food Supply and Integrity Services through a strategic alliance with AsureQuality, a New Zealand government-owned food safety and biosecurity company. AsureQuality has knowledge of Islamic requirements, and includes halal slaughter training and auditing services in its portfolio.

“By combining PwC’s in-depth assurance and business advisory capabilities, with AsureQuality's deep industry and food safety technical knowledge, we aim to provide the market with solutions that enhance value through brand building and margin improvement while safeguarding safety and quality in a sustainable manner.” said Dean Nikora, Group Director, Global Food Trust Alliance of AsureQuality Singapore.

Building trust in food is among the most complex problems that business and society must solve, but it is also one of the greatest opportunities for food companies that get it right. A well-coordinated and strategic approach is needed in order to take a holistic view to identify, monitor and mitigate weak links in the food supply chain.

Yeoh Oon Jin, Chairman, PwC Singapore concludes: "Food is an industry where customer trust and confidence is paramount. It’s a necessity of life, and its quality and safety should not be compromised. Singapore is strategically placed as a regional hub for many food companies. Coupled with Singapore's global standing as a country that upholds very high food safety standards, we see ourselves as a centre of excellence in the region to help in the food trust agenda. We are passionate about being able to help to improve trust in food.”

PwC is offering its food supply and integrity services in Singapore, China and New Zealand through an alliance with AsureQuality. AsureQuality also has a world-class laboratory in Singapore. Elsewhere, PwC and AsureQuality are working together to offer their combined services to government and food company clients.

Some of the cases PwC has worked on include when horsemeat was passed off as beef and creating a dairy farm assurance programme for Mengnin Dairy Company in China.

Interested?

Download the report Food trust: From compliance to competitive advantage which discusses the background to increasing regulatory changes impacting the global food industry, along with the impacts of the US Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) for retail and consumer goods companies worldwide.