BEIJING – The North American Meat Institute signed an agreement with The China Society of Inspection and Quarantine (CSIQ) to cooperate on key food safety programs and participate in technical information exchanges between the groups. William Westman, senior vice president of international trade for NAMI, will serve as the liaison to the partnership.

CSIQ and NAMI will strengthen technology exchanges and cooperation in inspection and quarantine. The groups also will collaborate on inspection and quarantine verification and food safety cooperation at the local and national level. The agreement calls for information sharing concerning regulatory and scientific developments that impact their members and disseminate the information, as appropriate. Both organizations will meet periodically to explore additional initiatives that would mutually benefit each organization’s members.


“This newly formed partnership is constituent with the Institute’s long-standing philosophy that food safety should be a non-competitive issue,” said NAMI Chairman Dave McDonald, president of OSI Industries. “We both know there is a time to compete against one another — that makes both of us better and stronger. But there is also a time when cooperation should trump competition, and that is when it comes to food safety.”

CSIQ is a national, non-profit, voluntary organization that aims to promote academic communication and technical cooperation. The organization advocates national high-tech inspection development and seeks to enhance the performance and level of inspection. CSIQ is approved by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, registered by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and supported by General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China (AQSIQ).