Key UC Contact
What We Did
A team of researchers from UC, Otago University and several Chinese Universities joined forces to investigate how NZ-China food value chains adjusted their practices during the pandemic. Especially we focus on remote auditing - a practice where inspection, testing and auditing of food production and food products are conducted remotely. The practice of remote auditing, though initially pushed by the constraints of limited travel and social distancing requirements, shows promises for the future. Building on the theoretical foundations that were published in Feb 2020, the team collected the data in NZ, Australia and China and from leading firms, accreditation bodies, certification bodies, auditors, governmental officials and industry experts to understand the challenges and opportunities for remote auditing in the future.
Who Was Involved
New Zealand China Food Protection Network (funding agency), Otago University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, China; Xi’an Jiaotong University, Peking University, China); Xi’an Jiaotong - Liverpool University, China
Why It Matters
China is NZ’s largest export market in which inspection, testing and auditing play an important role. The project provides a comprehensive account of the opportunities and challenges for further adoption of remote auditing and other technology enhanced solutions and develops a roadmap for future adoption of technologies for remote auditing.
Learn More
The report is available for download at:
- https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/handle/10092/102272
- https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/news/2021/smart-tech-tools-to-help-monitor-food-safety-remotely-.html
- Searcy, C. and Castka, P. (2020), The coronavirus pandemic requires us to understand food’s murky supply chains, The Conversation, July 28, 2020
- Castka, P.; Searcy, C; Mohr, J (2020) Technology-enhanced auditing: improving veracity and timeliness in social and environmental audits of supply chains; Journal of Cleaner Production; accepted; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120773
