The seven members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (saarc) unanimously decided to harmonise their food norms by 2007, at a recent meeting in Kathmandu. Those members not present are also expected to be involved in the process.

The meeting was organised by the Nepal government's Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (dftqc). According to T B Karki, director general of dftqc, "We are very keen to bring these standards into line as most saarc countries consume similar food products and have common eating habits. This will also help us to increase exports.'

The saarc members also decided to carry out regional accreditation of laboratories to test food products for contaminants. They discussed standards for additives, preservatives, flavouring agents and contaminants. The subject of nutritional labelling was also taken up.