Mars Inc, whose brands include M&M and Dove, is building a global food safety center in China to help further expand knowledge and understanding of effective global food safety management.

Scheduled to open in the summer of 2015 in Huairou, a suburb of Beijing, the $15 million center will be the first of its kind for Mars and one of the first facilities of its kind for the region and the industry, with the purpose of conducting non-profit food safety research and training.

“We are developing this center to focus on horizon scanning, researching new threats, developing new methods, and building capability through education and training,” according to Mars.

The goals are to develop enabling science that can be translated into more robust and cost effective food safety and quality systems, to drive continuous improvement throughout the Mars supply networks.

The center also aims to develop an external global network of universities and research institutions to enhance their ability to adapt to new challenges and opportunities, as well as to provide laboratory and technical facilities to regulators and researchers.

The center will be open to internal and external audiences to enable networking and to support standard development and contribute where appropriate to government food safety systems.