The global instant noodles industry pledged to continue to further the cause of food safety in a declaration issued on May 20, 2012 during the 8th World Instant Noodles Summit held in Tianjin, China.

The declaration clearly stated that the globe's instant noodle makers would all ensure increasingly safer, more delicious and convenient products through constant innovation.

The declaration states: "Particularly with regard to food safety, we, the instant noodle industry, have spared no effort. We are determined to maintain this stance… In order to protect the consumer, information regarding food safety and environmental protection should not be viewed as an area of competition, and such information should be actively shared among members of the industry using WINA as a base."

The industry underlined its commitment to safety in the wake of a number of incidents which have hit global food safety. The declaration also emphasizes the importance of ensuring both an early warning mechanism and guarding against unnecessary alarmism: "We issue caution against trends that seek recall or destroy all products on the market, even when the effects [of potentially contaminated products] are hardly discernible."

Wei Ing-Chou, chairman of the Tingyi Holding Corp. and newly appointed World Instant Noodles Association (WINA) Director General, commented: "Based on our belief that serving quality goods means serving society, we declare here from Tianjin, China, the city of food, that we will continue to contribute to society through instant noodles. "

The declaration also recognized the important role played by instant noodles in times of crisis, such as earthquakes, floods and typhoon. All stakeholders decided to donate US$500,000 to the WINA Disaster Relief Fund.

The declaration was signed by Governors and member companies of WINA from 25 different countries and regions.

In light of the fact that the global instant noodles industry is facing a period of transformation and upgrading, Koki Ando, chairman of WINA and president and CEO of Nissin Foods Holdings Co., Ltd., suggested that all global food safety watchdogs should strengthen coordination and cooperation to promote the healthy development of the industry and unify global efforts in producing ever-more diversified, nutritious and safe instant noodles for consumers.

The biennial summit, themed "Instant Noodles for Better Life-Safety, Delicacy, Convenience," took place from May 19-21, and was organized by the WINA and hosted by Tianjin-based Tingyi Holding Corp., China's leading instant noodles maker. More than 600 participants from 89 instant noodle makers in 16 countries attended the summit , along with dozens of industrial experts and scholars from around the world.

Topics discussed at the summit included instant noodles and food safety, instant noodles' nutritional value, industry changes, product quality enhancement and business management.