CP Cambodia – the leading agro-industry and food conglomerate business – and Makro Cambodia – the wholesale centre for professional business operators – have joined up to host the “CP x Makro Food Festival 2023”.

Dr. Poohrich Sinwat, Deputy General Manager of Strategic Development and Marketing at CP Cambodia, spoke at the December 22, 2023, opening of the festival, which aims to raise awareness of food safety and food standards in the Kingdom.

“Food plays a crucial role in our lives – consuming good food contributes to good health and leads to a better life.

“Therefore, CP and Makro have – with the concept of ‘Safe Food, Trust CP’ – collaborated to hold the ‘CP x Makro Food Festival 2023’ so Cambodian consumers can access CP’s quality food produced to the highest international standards.

“To this end, CP has brought its hygienic food products, including pork, chicken, sausages and eggs, to sell at Makro,” said Dr. Poohrich.

Piyapat Wongsree, Assistant Vice President of CP Cambodia, emphasised the importance of food safety in his opening remarks.

“Presently, we see many non-hygienic foods, especially imported products from unknown sources and without quality assurance, being sold in the Kingdom, with this situation causing health problems and impacting agri-businesses in Cambodia.

“CP wants Cambodian people to enjoy better health by consuming good food, and so we are committed to producing quality, nutritious and hygienic products.

“With our commitment to continually improving food processing and production that always meets world class standards, Cambodian consumers can put their trust in CP products.

“And through our collaboration with Makro – among the top wholesalers for business partners with its strong international standards – customers can be fully confident in the hygienic procedures and quality assurance 
of the products,” said Piyapat.

A mini seminar was held at the event to outline the importance of food safety, with experts from CP and Makro as the keynote speakers discussing the topic “Food Safety and Food Standards in Cambodia”.

The discussion focused on four key areas of interest.

Firstly, “food safety” is defined as food products that have high nutrition and are hygienically processed with no contamination from food-borne diseases.

Secondly, key concerns to address regarding product selection relate to the origin of a food product, its processing, storage conditions, production date and expiry date, as well as physical appearance, including 
its texture, smell and taste, among others.

Thirdly, while uncertainty regarding food safety remains a concern, peace of mind is ensured by CP’s high-standard processing facilities in Cambodia, such as the state-of-the-art CP Processing Factory in Kampot. Fresh meat from standardised factories must be processed at low temperatures to maintain product quality and limit the growth of food-borne bacteria.

Finally, a main recommendation for ensuring the food consumers acquire is hygienic is to buy from a hygienic shop with proper storage facilities for each food type and regular inspections to guarantee quality assurance.

Food products need to be stored at different temperatures – normal (25C), chilled (0-4C) or frozen (-20C) – to maintain quality and ensure maximum shelflife. 

Leakena and Navin, who attended the “CP x Makro Food Festival 2023”, expressed their appreciation for the holding of the event.

“We trust the food products we buy at Makro because the store is hygienic and sells high-quality food products, especially CP pork, CP chicken, CP sausages and CP eggs,” Leakena said.

The CP x Makro Food Festival is running from December 22, 2023, to January 7, 2024, at Makro Sen Sok and Makro Chroy Changvar.

And for every $5 spent on CP Food products – hygienic pork, chicken, sausages and eggs – customers will receive a discount coupon for purchasing any product from Five Star, Star Coffee and Hi Pork outlets.

Alternatively, coupons can be redeemed for exclusive rewards from CP – while stocks last – at the company’s booths.