Eight representatives from the Republic of China visited the kitchen and cafeteria at Northern High last week as part of a national tour to study how the United States regulates the safety, efficiency and security of food, drugs and medical equipment.

The delegates visited the school on Sept. 21 to observe how food is handled in a public school setting. School Nutrition Services staff shared information on menu development and the district’s food safety and manager training programs, and then took the delegates on a tour of the school’s kitchen.

“We were happy to take advantage of this opportunity and actually feel quite honored that they chose to visit with us,” said Cynthia Sevier, director of school nutrition services.

The U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program arranged the tour to provide the Chinese officials with techniques for improving food safety and regulating product security. They also observed how different government agencies work together to create and enforce regulations for food safety.

While in North Carolina, the delegates were scheduled to meet with members of the agricultural division of Syngenta, a global manufacturer of pesticides and fertilizers. They also met with students and faculty at North Carolina A&T State University and producers of tobacco, corn, wine, vegetables, dairy products and poultry. The national tour took the delegates to Washington, D.C., New York City, Nebraska and the San Francisco Bay area.

The delegates come from varied areas of expertise and are important figures in the Chinese food quality system. Lili Huang, for example, is a professor of plant pathology and an advisor to the Shaanxi Provincial Government agricultural department. Another delegate, Zejun Zhang, is the deputy division chief for the Sichuan Food and Drug Administration. He is also the secretariat for the Food Safety Coordination Committee of the Sichuan Food and Drug Administration.