The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies, will host the Eat Well, Eat Safe South African campaign and exhibition in collaboration with the South African Fruit & Vegetable Canners Association (SAFVCA) and Proudly South Africa. The event will take place at the Vangate Mall, Cape Town on Tuesday, 22 October 2013 at 9h00.
According to Minister Davies the exhibition seeks to promote the purchasing and consumption of locally produced food and will also act as a platform for food demonstration and safety tips on food handling and preparation.
“The exhibition will also serve as a conduit to market and promote local produce consumption in order to preserve and protect jobs in the Agro-processing sector,” says Minister Davies.
Minister Davies says despite the ongoing international economic crisis, food processing continues to be resilient and is one the largest manufacturing sectors, employing 171 600 employees.
“The sector is significant in value-addition terms and contributes meaningfully to the economy, however the sector continues to battle cheap imports that are penetrating the domestic market,” adds Minister Davies.
The Rhodes Foods group will launch and showcase new products that are part of their exercise to revitalise the canning industry in South Africa. The products include various permutations of fruit cocktails, jams, vegetables. These are in easy open lids that do not require a tin opener like the traditional canned products.
Food processing companies Tiger Brands and others under the SAFVCA umbrella will exhibit their product range and also make available food items to be cooked in the demonstrations.
Enquiries:
Sidwell Medupe-Departmental Spokesperson
Tel: 012 394 1650
Cell: 079 492 1774
E-mail: MSMedupe@thedti.gov.za
Follow us on twitter: @the_dti
