The State Council Information Office published on Friday a white
paper entitled The Quality and Safety of Food in China.
The document, composed of five chapters, describes the Chinese
government's efforts in enhancing the level of food quality and
improving the situation of food safety over the past years. The
full text of the white paper follows:
The Quality and Safety of Food in
China
I. Food Production and Food
Quality
II. Food Safety Regulatory System and
Work
III. Supervision of Imported and Exported
Food
IV. Law Regime and Technological Guarantee
System for Food Safety
V. International Exchanges and Cooperation
Regarding Food Safety
The quality and safety of food is a major benchmark of the
economic development and people's living conditions of a country.
Adhering to the people-oriented approach, the Chinese government
has always attached great importance to food quality and safety.
Moreover, sticking to the principle of nipping problems in the bud,
it has built and improved a supervisory system and mechanism for
food safety, strengthened legislation and the setting of relevant
standards, exercised strict quality control regarding food,
actively promoted international exchanges and cooperation in this
respect, and has greatly raised public awareness of food safety.
Thanks to such efforts, the overall level of food quality in China
is being steadily enhanced, the situation of food safety is
continuously improving, and the order in food production and
operation have markedly turned for the better.
I. Food Production and Food
Quality
1. The Quality and Safety Level of Processed Food Is
Steadily Improving
(1) Rapid and Sound Development of the Food-processing
Industry
In recent years, China's food industry has maintained fast and
sound growth, with a steady increase in economic benefits.
Foodstuffs can be classified by their raw materials and processing
techniques into 525 kinds in 28 categories: processed grain
products; edible oil, fat and fat products; seasonings; meat
products; dairy products; soft drinks; convenient food; biscuits;
canned food; iced drinks; fast-frozen food; potato and dilated
food; candies (including chocolate and chocolate products); tea;
alcoholic beverages; vegetable products; fruit products; roasted
seeds and nuts; egg products; cocoa and bakery coffee products;
sugar; processed aquatic products; starch and starch products;
pastries; bean products; bee products; special diet food, and
others.?At present, China has 448,000 enterprises engaged in
foodstuff production and processing. Among them, 26,000 enterprises
of designated scale 1 occupy 72 percent of the market, taking the
leading role in terms of output and sales revenue; 69,000 are
enterprises not up to the designated scale and those with more than
ten employees, taking up a market share of 18.7 percent; and
353,000 are small businesses or workshops with fewer than ten
employees, with a market share of 9.3 percent. (See Table 1)
1
Refering to private industrial enterprises with annual revenue of
two million yuan or more and all state-owned industrial
enterprises, as well as private commercial enterprises with annual
revenue of five million yuan or more and all state-owned commercial
enterprises. — Tr.
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Statistics show that, in 2006, industrial food enterprises of
designated scale generated 2,158.695 billion yuan of output value
(excluding tobacco), accounting for 6.8 percent of the national
industrial output value, and up 23.5 percent year on year. The
average annual industrial added value and profit of processing
enterprises of grain, oil, meat and dairy products all exceeded 20
percent. The output of major foodstuffs in 2006 were: wheat flour,
51.93 million tons; edible vegetable oil, 19.855 million tons;
fresh frozen meat, 11.125 million tons; dairy products, 14.596
million tons; beer, 35.152 million kl; and soft drinks, 42.198
million tons. These figures show rises of 28.2 percent, 17.5
percent, 24.0 percent, 23.5 percent, 14.7 percent and 21.5 percent
year on year, respectively. In the first six months of 2007, the
accumulated output value of the food industry amounted to 1,281.62
billion yuan, up 29.9 percent as compared with the corresponding
period last year. The output of beer, edible oil, soft drinks and
gourmet powder led the world.
At present, the development of China's food industry displays
the following features:
One, the processing techniques and equipment of some food
enterprises reach or approach the advanced international level.
Large meat, dairy product, beverage and beer producers all have
world first-class production and testing facilities, which
guarantees the quality of their products. The development and
application of such key processing techniques as
membrane-separation technology, physical property modification,
cold-aseptic filling, concentration and cold processing has
narrowed China's gap with the world advanced level in terms of
processing technology and equipment.
Two, quality control of the enterprises has become more
scientific and standard. So far, 107,000 food producers have
obtained market access permits regarding quality and safety, and
2,675 have been granted hazard analysis and critical control point
(HACCP) certificates.
Three, the structure of products is being improved to cater to
the increasingly diverse demands of consumers. The proportion of
intensively or deeply processed foodstuffs to the total output of
foodstuffs keeps increasing. For instance, liquid dairies now
account for more than 85 percent of the total output of dairy
products; colas no longer dominate the market, as a result of the
mushrooming of packed drinking water and fruit, vegetable and tea
drinks; special flour above second grade accounts for 65 percent of
the total output of wheat flour; standard rice above first grade
accounts for 88 percent of the total output of rice, and special
rice for 33.9 percent of the total output of rice; and Grades I and
II oil (salad oil and quality culinary oil according to previous
national standards) accounts for 58.5 percent of the total output
of edible vegetable oil.
(2) Continuous Improvement of Food Quality
One, the acceptance rate of foodstuffs on the whole is steadily
rising. The rate was 77.9 percent in the 2006 national foodstuffs
sample survey, and it rose to 85.1 percent in a similar survey in
the first half of 2007. The level of food quality and safety
remains stable, with a gradual upturn. (See Table 2)
Table 2?Acceptance rate of
foodstuffs in sample surveys from 2005 to June 2007
Two, the quality of food produced nationwide is improving. In
the first half of 2007, the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and
municipalities directly under the Central Government on the
mainland of China reported an average 89.2-percent acceptance rate
of foodstuffs, and the figure in 14 of them surpassed 90
percent.
Three, the quality of food in key sectors is fairly high. Thanks
to the country's endeavors to improve the work of food producers
and processors, the quality of 525 kinds of foodstuffs in 28
categories has been enhanced to various degrees, with remarkable
progress in the quality of food with a large daily consumption.
According to statistics, the ten foodstuffs with the largest
consumption are edible oil, fat and fat products; alcoholic
beverages; aquatic products; processed grain products; soft drinks;
meat products; dairy products; seasonings; starch and starch
products; and sugar. In the first half of 2007, sample surveys
showed a 90-percent or higher acceptance rate of all the above ten
foodstuffs except aquatic products, whose acceptance rate was 85
percent. That of meat products was 97.6 percent. (See Table 3)
Table 3 Acceptance rate of the ten
most-consumed foodstuffs in the first half of 2007
(3) Quality Food Dominating the Market
Along with the development of the food industry, the scale of
food producers keeps growing, production is becoming more
concentrated, and the quality of foodstuffs of large and
medium-sized producers is sound. In 2006, the top 100 revenue
earners held 24.9 percent of the total sales of the food industry;
the top ten dairy producers generated 54.7 percent of the total
revenue of the dairy industry; the top ten soft-drink producers
generated 39.5 percent of the total output of that industry; the
top ten sugar makers produced 43.6 percent of the total output of
the sugar industry; the top 50 meat producers accounted for 70
percent of that industry in terms of production capacity and sales;
the eight beer brewery groups, each with a production capacity of
over one million kl, produced 57 percent of the national beer
output; the ten largest wineries produced 62.1 percent of the
national output; and the three largest instant noodle producers
occupied 76 percent of the Chinese market.
??
2. The Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products Is
Steadily Improving
(1) Fast Growth of High-quality and Safe
Brands
Quality agricultural products are steadily expanding their
market. Agricultural standardization has been notably enhanced,
which increases farmers' income and changes their farming patterns.
Hazard-free, green and organic products make up 90 percent of all
agricultural-product exports. Over the past five years, the export
of green food has shot up 40 percent annually, and has been
accepted by over 40 of China's trading partners. So far, China has
developed 28,600 kinds of hazard-free agricultural products, and
set up 24,600 hazard-free production bases with a total area of
21.07 million hectares. Five thousand three hundred and fifteen
Chinese enterprises use the green food logo on their 14,339 kinds
of products totaling 72 million tons and grown on 10 million
hectares of land. In addition, 600 producers use the organic food
logo on their 2,647 kinds of products totaling 19.56 million tons
and grown on 3.11 million hectares of land. Altogether, there are
539 state-level agricultural demonstration zones, 100 demonstration
counties (farms) and nearly 3,500 provincial-level demonstration
zones, with a combined growing area exceeding 33.33 million
hectares.
(2) Acceptance Rate of Agricultural Products Rising
Continuously
Inspections in the first half of 2007 showed that the average
acceptance rate regarding pesticide residues in vegetables was 93.6
percent; those regarding clenbuterol hydrochloride contamination
and sulfa drug residues in livestock products was 98.8 percent and
99.0 percent respectively; and that regarding chloromycetin in
aquatic products was 99.6 percent, of nitrofuran 91.4 percent, and
of pesticide residue over 95 percent in sample surveys done at
production bases.
3. The Quality of Imported and Exported Foodstuffs Stays
High
China is a large importer and exporter of foodstuffs, with the
amount of each growing steadily in recent years. The import and
export volume in 2006 totaled US$40.448 billion-worth (excluding
wheat, corn and soybean, same below), up 21.45 percent year on
year. (See Table 4)
Table 4? China's food import and
export volumes in 2005 and 2006
(1) Safety of Export Food Guaranteed
In 2006, China exported 24.173 million tons of food, worth
US$26.659 billion, up 13.29 percent and 16.0 percent year on year,
respectively. The top ten varieties in terms of export value were
aquatic products, processed aquatic products, vegetables, canned
food, juices and drinks, processed grain products, seasonings,
poultry products, alcoholic beverages, and livestock meat and
chopped entrails. (See Table 5)
Table 5? Top ten food varieties in
terms of export value in 2006 as compared with 2005
Foodstuffs of the mainland of China have been exported to more
than 200 countries and regions, of which the top ten in terms of
trade volume are Japan, the US, the ROK, Hong Kong, Russia,
Germany, Malaysia, Holland, Indonesia and the UK. (See Table 6)
Table 6? Top ten countries and
region in terms of China's export value of food in 2006 as compared
with 2005
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For many years, over 99 percent of China's exported foodstuffs
have been up to standard. In 2006 and the first half of 2007, China
exported to the US some 94,000 batches and 55,000 batches of
foodstuffs, respectively, and 752 batches and 477 batches of each
were found by the US to be substandard, making the acceptance rate
99.2 percent and 99.1 percent, respectively. In the case of the EU,
the figures were 91,000 batches and 62,000 batches, with 91 batches
and 135 batches found by the EU to be substandard, making the
acceptance rate 99.9 percent and 99.8 percent, respectively. On
July 20, 2007, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan,
the largest importer of Chinese food, released an examination
report on food imported from China in 2006, which showed that Japan
conducted more sample surveys on Chinese food (15.7 percent) than
on food from anywhere else, but Chinese food had the highest
acceptance rate (99.42 percent), followed by that imported from the
EU (99.38 percent) and the US (98.69 percent). The mainland of
China is a major supplier of food for the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region. Two large food sample surveys conducted by
Hong Kong's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department in the first
half of 2007 showed that the acceptance rate stood at 99.2 percent
and 99.6 percent, respectively.
??
(2) Quality of Imported Food Stable
In 2006, China imported 20.273 million tons of food, worth
US$13.396 billion, up 37.94 percent and 25.11 percent year on year,
respectively. The top ten varieties in terms of import value were
vegetable oil, aquatic products, cereals, sugar, dairy products,
alcoholic beverages, tobacco and associated products, poultry and
chopped entrails, oil crops, and processed grain products. (See
Table 7)
Table 7? Top ten food varieties in
terms of import value in 2006 as compared with 2005
China imports foodstuffs from 143 countries and regions, and the
top ten in terms of trade value are Malaysia, Russia, the US,
Indonesia, Argentina, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and
France. (See Table 8)
Table 8? Top ten countries in terms
of China's import value of food in 2006 as compared with
2005
For many years, the quality of food China imports has been
fairly stable, and no serious hazard has been caused by imported
food. During the period from 2004 to the first half of 2007, the
acceptance rate of imported food, according to statistics released
by the ports of entry, were 99.29 percent (2004), 99.46 percent
(2005), 99.11 percent (2006) and 99.29 percent (first half of
2007), respectively.
II. Food Safety Regulatory System and
Work
To ensure food safety, the Chinese government adheres to the
principle of giving priority to prevention and control at its root
by monitoring and controlling the whole process, and has formed a
regulatory format in which the local governments take the
responsibility, related departments provide guidance and conduct
coordination, and different sectors make concerted efforts under
the unified national leadership. In response to the circumstances
in China, the State Council issued the Decision on Further
Strengthening Food Safety Supervision in 2004, according to which
one monitoring link is supervised by one department; sectional
supervision is adopted as the main means while supervision of
different varieties as the supplementary means, making clearer the
functions and responsibilities of the food safety supervisory
departments. The Decision divided food safety supervision into four
links, managed by the departments of agriculture, quality
supervision and inspection, industry and commerce, and health,
respectively. The production of primary agricultural products is
supervised by the agriculture department, the quality and daily
hygiene supervision of food processing is overseen by the quality
supervision and inspection department, supervision of food
circulation and distribution is done by the department of industry
and commerce, and that of the catering industry and canteens is
taken care of by the health department. The integrated food-safety
supervision and coordination, and investigation of and penalties
imposed for major incidents in this regard are the responsibility
of the department of food and drug administration, while imported
and exported agricultural products and other foodstuffs are
supervised by the quality supervision and inspection department. In
this way, there is a strict, complete regulatory system for food
safety supervision in which the departments concerned work in close
cooperation, with clearly defined functions and
responsibilities.
As it is a prolonged and arduous task to strengthen food safety
control, a regulatory system and a lasting efficiency mechanism
should be established and improved, and planned with consideration
given to both present and future needs to deal with both the
symptoms and root causes of food safety problems, especially the
latter.
The Chinese government stresses food safety from the source,
improvement of the related basic regulatory systems, and
strengthening of food safety supervision.
1. Intensifying Supervision on the Quality and Safety of
Agricultural Products
In 2001, China started to implement the Hazard-free Food Action
Plan, focusing on the control of residue of high-toxic pesticides
in vegetables and clenbuterol hydrochloride contamination in
livestock products, to address the most concerned problems of
illegal use of high-toxic pesticide and veterinary medicines, as
well as violations of residue standards. The Plan stipulates a
complete supervisory process from farmland to market by emphasizing
the three key aspects of materials used in farming, production and
market excess. By carrying out regular monitoring and inspection,
the Plan aims at enhancing people's awareness of food quality and
safety, ensuring management responsibility, and improving the
levels of management and quality and safety of agricultural
products by means of standardization. Today, the system for
securing the quality and safety of agricultural products is
improving, with steadily strengthened supervisory capacity and
notable progress in agricultural standardization, leading to the
formation of a work mechanism integrating service, management,
supervision, penalty and emergency response, to ensure the quality
and safety of agricultural products.
2. Establishing and Strictly Implementing Market Access
Systems for Food Quality and Safety
The food quality and safety market access systems established by
the Chinese government in 2001 comprise three major ones. One, the
production license system, which requires that food-processing
enterprises cannot produce and market their products without having
the capability to control the source materials' quality, and the
adequate conditions to ensure food quality and safety in terms of
production equipment, technological flow, product standardization,
testing equipment and capability, environment, quality control,
storage and transportation, packaging and labeling, and production
staff. Enterprises can produce and sell food only after obtaining a
food production license. Two, the compulsory inspection system,
which means that enterprises have the legal obligation to ensure
that their food products pass quality inspection before entering
the market. Three, the market access labeling system, i.e.,
enterprises are required to put on food products the QS label,
guaranteeing their quality and safety. Following the principle of
phased implementation, by the end of June 2007, some 107,000 food
production licenses had been issued to enterprises, which took up
over 90 percent of the market of their trades. Meanwhile,
supervision has been strengthened over enterprises with food
production licenses. By the end of June 2007, 1,276 food production
licenses had been withdrawn, cancelled, revoked or nullified for
substandard food products. In pace with the growing number of
enterprises obtaining the license, the General Administration of
Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has released lists
of such enterprises, making clear that producers without the
license and products without the QS label must not enter the
market, and warning consumers not to use such products.
3. Intensifying State Supervision by Sample Survey for
Food Quality
The Chinese government carries out a food supervision and
inspection system mainly by means of sample survey. Since it was
set up in 1985, the system has been strengthened and become more
focused to enhance its efficiency. In recent years,
daily-consumption food items, such as dairy products, meat
products, tea, beverages, grain and edible oil, have become the
major targets of sample surveys, especially those produced in
workshops and enterprises located in concentrated food-producing
areas. Special attention has been given to the hygienic indices of
microorganisms, additives and heavy metals in food, and to
follow-up inspections of small enterprises with unstable product
quality. By increasing sample survey frequency and coverage, the
goal of rectifying producers of the same type of food by means of
sample survey has been by and large met. The state supervisory
sample surveys were carried out on 11,104 batches of foodstuffs
produced by 7,880 enterprises from 2006 to June 2007. Meanwhile,
greater efforts have been made to rectify and punish enterprises
turning out substandard products, and to set things straight by
means of the following: First, strictly implementing the public
announcement system. Three hundred and fifty-five batches of food
with serious quality problems produced by 355 enterprises were
found in sample surveys and publicly announced. At the same time,
publicity is given to good enterprises, quality products and sound
brands. Two hundred and forty products winning the title of "Famous
Chinese Brand" and 548 freed-from-inspection products have become
popular among consumers. Second, strictly carrying out the
rectification system. Enterprises with substandard products are
urged to rectify themselves strictly, to be examined again in due
course. If problems persist, they will be ordered to stop
production for an overhaul. If they still cannot pass the
inspection after the overhaul, their business licenses will be
revoked. Third, strictly implementing the penalty system. Producers
who mix impurities or imitations with their products, or pass fake
or defective products off as genuine ones will be ordered to stop
production, and their products be confiscated. Legal liabilities
will be imposed in serious cases by the judicial organs.
4. Intensifying Rectification of Food
Workshops
Regional differences and disparities between urban and rural
areas in China make the supervision of food workshops a prolonged
and arduous task. At present, food workshops with fewer than ten
employees are the ones that pose the most difficult problem for
ensuring food quality and safety. For workshops engaged in
traditional, low-risk food processing, the government sticks to the
principle of supervision and standardization while giving guidance
to such workshops for consumers' convenience. On the one hand, the
government has tried to upgrade them to the market-access
requirements by means of shutdown, stoppage of production, merging
or changing line of business; on the other, more stringent
supervisory measures have been taken to prevent food safety
accidents. In recent years, supervision of workshops and small
enterprises has been conducted mainly in four aspects: One,
transformation of basic work conditions. Workshops cannot start
production without meeting the requirements. Two, restrictions on
market scope. Food products processed by such small workshops are
not allowed to sell outside the administrative areas of townships
or towns in which they are located, not allowed to enter shopping
centers and supermarkets. Three, restrictions on food packaging.
Before obtaining a market access permit, food products from the
workshops are not allowed to have marketing package, so that they
cannot enter the market disguised as licensed goods. Four, public
undertaking. Food workshops must undertake to the public that they
do not use any non-food materials, misuse additives, use recycled
food, send their products to shopping centers or supermarkets, or
market their products beyond the approved region, and guarantee
that their food products meet the basic safety and hygienic
standards. After such rectifications, the average acceptance rate
in sample surveys of food workshops rose to 70.4 percent in 2006.
By the end of June 2007, 5,631 workshops had been closed down,
8,814 had been made to suspend production, and 5,385 had reached
the requirements after rectification.
5. Promoting the Responsibility System for Regional Food
Safety Control
The responsibility system for regional food safety control
mainly comprises the following aspects. First, to have specified
persons responsible for specified regions and enterprises. The
system requires that food safety inspectors of the quality
supervision and inspection department go to the townships to
supervise the food-processing enterprises; township government
coordinators assist the inspectors in supervising food quality and
safety; and local reporters bring to attention anything illegal
regarding food quality and safety. The number of inspectors,
coordinators and local reporters must be fixed, their duties
defined, and their working areas and inspecting enterprises
designated. Second, the system requires "three enters" and "four
graphs." The former refers to entering villages, households and
enterprises to find out their working conditions and set up files
of food producers and processors; the latter refers to drawing up a
graph showing dynamic changes in enterprises, a graph showing the
distribution of food producers and processors, a graph showing the
implementation of supervisory duties, and a graph giving food
safety precautions, so as to carry out proactive monitoring and
control. Third, the system requires local governments to sign
documents of responsibility, enterprises to sign letters of
undertaking, and quality supervision and inspection departments to
submit regular food safety reports.
By the end of June 2007, a total of 16,030 food-safety
supervision regions had been set up, 25,346 full-time food-safety
inspectors had been put to work, 72,474 local government
coordinators had been appointed, and 106,573 food-safety reporters
had been recruited in 31 provinces, autonomous regions and
municipalities directly under the Central Government. In 2006, the
quality supervision and inspection departments at various levels
made 900,000 inspections of food producing and processing
enterprises.
6. Stepping up Supervision of the Food Circulation
Sector
The "Three Green Projects" have been vigorously promoted in
China, advocating "green consumption, green markets and green
channels." The government encourages modern modes of organization
and management for circulation, positively supports the development
of chain management and logistics provision; urges marketing
enterprises to examine materials before accepting them, check
business licenses, require invoices for purchases, keep accounts of
transactions and honor their undertakings for food quality, as well
as promotes market managers' food quality responsibility system;
implements market inspection system in an all-around way; improves
the food quality monitoring system, and strictly implements the
system that substandard food must be withdrawn from the market and
destroyed and made known to the public; strengthens administration
over butchering of livestock and fowls, breaks down regional
barriers and encourages the nationwide circulation of high-quality
foodstuffs with good credit standing and prestigious brand names;
improves food processing, circulation and service systems in
communities; strengthens the management of the use of genuine food
safety labels and standard packaging, and concentrates efforts to
crack down on printing of fake packaging, labels and
trademarks.
7. Intensifying Supervision of Food Safety in Catering
Industry
Hygiene in the catering industry is vital for food safety. In
this regard, the Chinese government has primarily done the
following: One, it has intensified supervision on hygiene in the
catering industry, promulgated and put into effect the Hygienic
Standards for the Catering Industry and Group Food Service
Providers, adopted a quantified and classified supervisory system
for food hygiene management, and strengthened supervision on each
link of the catering industry. Two, it has urged the catering
industry and canteens to implement the quantified and classified
supervisory system for food hygiene management in an all-around
way, improved and strengthened monitoring of food contamination and
building of a monitoring system on diseases caused by contaminated
food. Three, it has intensified crackdown on activities in
violation of food safety law, investigated and dealt with serious
cases and timely made them known to the public. In 2006, the health
departments inspected 2.04 million catering entities of various
types and school canteens, dealt with 45,000 cases of illegal food
processing and sale and closed down 25,000 food processors and
sellers that had been operating without hygiene permits. Four, it
has strengthened efforts on hygienic work in schools, directed and
carried out special inspections on food and drinking water hygiene,
and prevention and treatment of contagious diseases in schools all
over the country, as well as prevention of food poisoning and the
spread of communicable intestinal diseases. Five, it has conducted
food-related jeopardy assessment and issued early warnings for food
safety problems on a scientific basis and provided food assessment
information.
8. Carrying out Rectification in Respect of Food Quality
and Safety in an All-around Way
In order to crack down on the spread of counterfeit and shoddy
foodstuffs in certain regions, special comprehensive rectification
campaigns were launched in these regions for food quality and
safety. The Chinese government has conducted a special project
involving hundreds of regions, thousands of townships and tens of
thousands of food producers and processors. Targeting key regions,
food processing venues and households and their products, the
project has resolved the regional problem of producing and selling
fake and inferior goods by establishing a food safety monitoring
network, stepping up efforts in building up the technological
forces such as standardization and monitoring technology, improving
technical services for enterprises, promoting the setting up of
food industry associations, and intensifying law enforcement and
making more stringent efforts to crack down on the production and
sale of counterfeit and faulty food. Meanwhile, the departments of
industry and commerce as well as quality supervision and inspection
keep intensifying law enforcement and, with focus on food quality
and safety, direct and conduct special law enforcement actions
against activities in producing and processing counterfeit
food-related items at the source, strictly crack down on illegal
activities such as production of food with non-food materials and
misuse of additives in food, as well as food producers with neither
a business license nor food-processing permit. In 2006, the quality
supervision and inspection departments handled 49,000 illegal
operations in this field, confiscating counterfeit and shoddy
foodstuffs worth 450 million yuan. In the same year, the
departments of industry and commerce sent 5.6 million person/times
for law enforcement and inspected 16,000 key food markets and 10.4
million food operating business/times, closed down 151,800
unlicensed businesses, revoked 4,629 business licenses,
investigated and dealt with 68,000 cases of production and sale of
counterfeit and shoddy food, of which 48 cases were referred to the
relevant judicial organs, and ordered 15,500 tons of substandard
foodstuffs off the market.
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9. Beefing up the Construction of a Risk-warning and
Emergency-response System
The Chinese government has established a nationwide quick risk
warning and responding system in respect of food safety, actively
conducted risk monitoring and control in food production,
processing, circulation and consumption, and preliminarily realized
the early discovery, early warning, early control and early
treatment of food-safety problems through efficient collection and
analysis of information on food safety. It has also established a
rapid and efficient response mechanism covering the collection and
analysis of risk-related information, issuing warnings and rapid
responses so that it is possible to provide prompt reports, take
swift action, make accurate judgment and mete out appropriate
measures.?
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10. Establishing and Improving a Food Recall
System
This system comprises two aspects: active recall and instructed
recall. The system stipulates that it is the responsibility of food
producing and processing enterprises to recall their products if
necessary, requires that food producers should instantly put a halt
to the production and selling of their products if they suspect any
safety risk in their food products, and take the initiative to
recall such food products. Producers who purposely conceal food
hazards or do not perform their recall obligations, or whose faulty
production has extended such hazards or made them recur, will be
instructed to recall their products. In recent years, in conducting
food sample surveys and law enforcement, the General Administration
of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has become more
stringent in demanding food recall when major food-safety hazards,
such as pathogenic bacteria, chemical pollutant or non-food
materials, are found in food products. Toward those food producing
enterprises causing serious consequences, the Administration has
revoked their licenses, thus reducing hazards that might be caused
by unsafe food and safeguarding the health and safety of
consumers.?
11. Improving the Food Safety Credit System
The Chinese government pays great attention to the construction
of the credit system for food safety, and has set up the
preliminary credit records for food-producing enterprises, as well
as a system to publicize the honor rolls and blacklists of food
producers and processors. Meanwhile, the functions of chambers of
commerce and trade associations have been brought into full play to
promote self-discipline in the food industry. By giving backing to
excellent and competent enterprises, the government supports and
helps good and strong enterprises by legislative, administrative
and economic means to create an honest environment for food safety,
and to enhance people's awareness of honesty in this regard. It has
made great efforts in gradual improvement of this mechanism for
food safety, and given full scope to its role in regulating,
guiding and supervising food safety. It has built up files of
credit records of food safety and promoted classified credit
monitoring in the food industry. Emphasis is laid on the
establishment of a registration and information system and a
classified database of credit records of food producers and
sellers, which collects information on food producers' and sellers'
market access, food-safety control, and consumers' complaints and
reports, to ensure an effective control based on adequate
information. In recent years, the latest network technology has
been used for this purpose, so that consumers may timely, easily,
quickly and effectively distinguish counterfeits from genuine ones,
which greatly helps safeguard consumers' interests, discourages the
production and sale of fake foodstuffs and promotes honesty among
enterprises in this industry.
Over the years, the continuous growth of the food industry in
terms of variety and quantity as well as the improvement of quality
have helped satisfy the people's ever-increasing consumption
demands, raised their living standard and promoted national
economic development. However, the Chinese government is well aware
that there are still problems with food safety, owing to the
country's limited socio-economic development. In the days to come,
penalties will be focused on those who produce shoddy products or
products containing inferior materials or impurities, palm off
counterfeits as genuine ones, process foodstuff with non-food or
moldy materials, produce foodstuff in disregard of required
standards and misuse additives in foodstuff, so as to continuously
guarantee food safety and quality.
III. Supervision of Imported and
Exported Food
1. Supervision of Imported Food
Exploration and practice over the years have enabled China to
set up a complete framework of food quality and safety supervisory
system and guarantee measures to ensure the safety of imported
food.
-- Scientific risk management system. According to the WTO
Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
(SPS) and common international practice, the Chinese government
adopts an inspection and quarantine entry system based on risk
management for high-risk imported food, such as meat and vegetable,
which includes: making a risk analysis on the high-risk food that
the exporting country applies to export to China; signing an
inspection and quarantine agreement with the exporting country on
food involving acceptable risks; carrying out hygiene registration
for foreign food enterprises; and quarantining, examining and
approving the imported food of animal and plant origin. If epidemic
animal or plant diseases or severe food safety problems occur in
the exporting country, China shall take timely risk management
measures, including suspending food imports from that country.
-- Strict inspection and quarantine system. When imported food
arrives at the port of entry, the entry-exit inspection and
quarantine authorities carry out inspection and quarantine in
accordance with law, and approve the foodstuffs to be imported only
if they meet the required standards; and the customs house clears
the imported food upon the strength of the Customs Clearance List
of Inward/Outward Goods as issued by the entry-exit inspection and
quarantine authorities. Only then can the food be sold in the
Chinese market. If safety or hygienic problems are found in the
food when inspected and quarantined, corresponding measures are
immediately taken. In 2006, Chinese entry-exit inspection and
quarantine authorities altogether found 2,458 batches of foodstuffs
not meeting the standards at ports of entry. In the first half of
2007, some 896 were found, which were returned, destroyed or used
in other ways according to law. Thus is the safety of food imported
for the Chinese market assured.
-- Complete quality and safety supervisory system. While
carrying out inspection and quarantine in accordance with law, the
entry-exit inspection and quarantine authorities pay special
attention to higher-risk food and problematic foodstuffs as found
in the inspection and quarantine at the ports of entry. The
authorities promptly issue early warnings of risks when finding
imported food with serious problems or the same type of imported
food with repeated problems, and take such measures as increasing
the proportion of sample survey, adding more items for inspection,
and suspending import.
-- Strict system against illegal import. The General
Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine
and the General Administration of Customs have set up a cooperation
mechanism to jointly fight illegal food imports. In 2006, China
signed with the European Union Commission the Arrangement for
Cooperation on Joint Prevention of Illegal Actions in the Import
and Export of Food, making it clear that the two sides will crack
down on such illegal activities as deception, undeclared carrying,
illegal transit and smuggling through exchanges of information,
technological cooperation, mutual visits of experts and special
joint actions. In 2006 and the first half of 2007, 12,292 tons of
illegally imported meat were seized.
2. Supervision of Exported Food
Following the principle of "prevention first, supervision at the
source, and control throughout the process," the Chinese government
has set up and improved an export-food safety management framework
composed of "one pattern and ten systems."
"One pattern" refers to the managerial pattern for the
production of export food -- "enterprise + base + standardization."
This pattern conforms to China's reality and the actual situation
in the field of export food, and thus is an important guarantee for
the quality of such food. Besides, it is the only way for
enterprises to aim for scale and intensive development in the
international market. With unremitting efforts over many years,
China has basically put this pattern in place for major export food
items, especially high-risk foodstuffs such as meat, aquatic
products and vegetable.
The "ten systems" are: three for supervision at the source --
the archiving management system for the inspection and quarantine
of planting and breeding bases, the epidemic disease monitoring
system, and the supervisory system for pesticide and veterinary
medicine residue; three for factory supervision -- the hygiene
registration system, the classified management system for
enterprises, and the resident quarantine official system for large
enterprises producing high-risk food for export; three for product
supervision -- the legal inspection and quarantine system for
export food, the system of quality tracing and substandard products
recalling, and the early risk warning and quick response system;
and one for credit building -- a red list and a blacklist for food
export enterprises.
-- Strengthening supervision of planting and breeding at the
source. To effectively control the risks of animal epidemics, plant
diseases and pesticide and veterinary medicine residue, and
guarantee food quality and safety and traceability at the source,
the entry-exit inspection and quarantine authorities adopt the
archiving management system for the inspection and quarantine of
export food material bases with such risks. Only the raw materials
of planting and breeding bases with archiving approval can be used
in processed export food, and all the raw material bases with
archiving approval are publicized on the website of the General
Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.
So far, 6,031 breeding farms and 380,000 hectares of planting bases
have obtained such approval. For these bases, the relevant agencies
strengthen supervision, prevention and control of epidemic
diseases, exercise tight management of agricultural input
materials, and enforce a strict supervision system over pesticide
and veterinary medicine residue, so that these problems are brought
under effective control. In recent years, bird flu has been found
in many places around the world, but none at the bases under
archiving management in China.
-- Strengthening supervision of food producing enterprises.
China has adopted a hygiene registration system for all enterprises
producing export food, and an enterprise has to be granted such
registration before engaging in the production of export food. So
far, 12,714 enterprises have been registered, among which 3,698
have passed the HACCP certification of the entry-exit inspection
and quarantine authorities. The local entry-exit inspection and
quarantine authorities carry out routine supervision and
administration of the registered food producing and processing
enterprises in a unified way to ensure that the raw materials come
from archived planting and breeding bases, and that the production
and processing meet the required standards. As regards large
enterprises producing or processing high-risk export food such as
meat, the entry-exit inspection and quarantine authorities send
resident officials to supervise them when needed. The packaging of
export food should be labeled with traceable signs according to
requirements, so as to ensure the traceability of the products and
recall of substandard products.
-- Strengthening inspection and quarantine before the food is
exported. As prescribed by Chinese laws, all food should meet the
standards set by the inspection and quarantine authorities before
being exported, and the customs houses at the ports of exit should
clear the export food upon the strength of the Customs Clearance
List of Outward Goods issued by the entry-exit inspection and
quarantine authorities. If it is demanded by the importing country,
the relevant entry-exit inspection and quarantine authorities
should issue a hygiene certificate to prove that the food meets the
required standards, and enter on the certificate the name, address,
number of hygiene registration of the producing enterprise, date of
production, date of export, loading port and destination port. When
the goods arrive at the port of exit, the inspection and quarantine
authorities at the port should examine the goods again, making sure
they are intact and conform to the information on the certificate.
All these measures guarantee the traceability of the food.
-- Strengthening the construction of the export enterprise
credit system. An export enterprise quality undertaking system and
a red list and blacklist system for export enterprises are
implemented in a comprehensive way, and efforts are being made to
increase the awareness of the persons primarily responsible for
product quality and help enterprises to form a mechanism of
self-management, self-discipline and consciousness of operation in
good faith. Included on the List of Sound Enterprises are those
with a complete and effective control system, good faith, effective
control over safety risks, and a good reputation in the importing
countries. Such enterprises are granted favorable policy treatment.
Enterprises with serious quality problems as reported by the
importing countries or regions, or which have avoided inspection
and quarantine or cheated the inspection and quarantine authorities
are punished in accordance with the law and included in the List of
Unlawful Enterprises and publicized on the Internet so as to
enhance the self-disciplinary awareness of enterprises producing
export food. So far, 55 enterprises have been put on the list.
Over the years, the departments of quality supervision and
inspection, trade, customs, industry and commerce, and taxation
have worked closely to promote the quality and safety level of food
exported from China and satisfy numerous Chinese and foreign
customers with high-quality, delicious and inexpensive foodstuffs.
Yet, there are still a tiny number of enterprises that disregard
the law, regulations and standards of China and importing countries
and, by deception or fraud, avoid supervision by the inspection and
quarantine authorities, or export food by improper channels.
Consequently, some adulterated, counterfeit or shoddy foodstuffs
have found their way from China into foreign markets. The Chinese
government is determined to step up the fight against such
activities and prevent substandard foodstuffs from going
overseas.
IV. Law Regime and Technological
Guarantee System for Food Safety
??
1. Food Safety Law Regime Gradually Improved
China now has a complete law regime providing a sound foundation
and good environment for guaranteeing food safety, improving food
quality and regulating food imports and exports.
The specific laws in this regard include the Product Quality
Law, Standardization Law, Metrology Law, Law on the Protection of
Consumer Rights and Interests, Law on the Quality and Safety of
Agricultural Products, Criminal Law, Food Hygiene Law, Law on
Import and Export Commodity Inspection, Law on Animal and Plant
Entry and Exit Quarantine, Frontier Health and Quarantine Law and
Law on Animal Disease Prevention.
The specific administrative regulations in this regard include
the Special Regulations of the State Council on Strengthening
Safety Supervision and Administration of Food and Other Products,
Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration
of Production Licenses for Industrial Products, Regulations of the
People's Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation,
Regulations for the Implementation of the Law of the People's
Republic of China on Import and Export Commodity Inspection,
Regulations for the Implementation of the Law of the People's
Republic of China on Animal and Plant Entry and Exit Quarantine,
Administrative Regulations of the People's Republic of China on
Veterinary Medicine, Administrative Regulations of the People's
Republic of China on Pesticides, Provisions of the People's
Republic of China on Place of Origin of Export Goods, Regulations
for the Implementation of the Standardization Law of the People's
Republic of China, Measures for Investigating, Punishing and
Banning Unlicensed Business Operations, Regulations on the
Administration of Feedstuffs and Feed Additives, Administrative
Regulations on the Safety of Genetically Modified Agricultural
Organisms and Regulations of the People's Republic of China on
Import and Export of Endangered Wild Fauna and Flora.
The specific departmental rules include the Detailed Rules for
the Implementation of the Measures for the Administration of the
Supervision of Quality and Safety of Food of Food Producing and
Processing Enterprises (Trial), Measures for the Implementation of
the Regulations of the People's Republic of China for the
Administration of Production Licenses for Industrial Products,
Measures for the Administration of Food Hygiene Licenses, Measures
for the Hygiene Administration of Food Additives, Measures for the
Administration of Inspection and Quarantine of Entry and Exit Meat
Products, Measures for the Administration of Inspection and
Quarantine of Entry and Exit of Aquatic Products, Measures for the
Administration of Food Safety in the Circulation Sector, Measures
for the Administration of the Safety of Places of Origin of
Agricultural Products, Measures for the Administration of the
Packaging and Marks of Agricultural Products and Regulations for
the Administration of Hygiene Registration of Export Food
Production Enterprises.
??
2. Construction of Food Quality and Safety Standard System
Gradually Strengthened
The Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of
China administers the country's food standardization work, while
relevant departments under the State Council are in charge of
specific food standardization work in respective sectors. The
departments concerned are responsible for drafting different
national standards for food safety, while the Standardization
Administration initiates projects, examines them, marks the serial
numbers, gives formal approval and promulgates them. Now, a food
quality and safety standard system covering all categories,
featuring a relatively rational structure and being fairly
complete, has taken initial shape in China. Food safety standards
cover the place of origin of agricultural products, quality of
irrigation water, rules for the rational use of materials put into
agriculture, rules and procedures for animal and plant quarantine,
good agricultural practices (GAP), standards of maximum amount of
pesticides, veterinary drugs, pollutants and spoilage organisms
allowed in food, standards for food additives and their use,
hygiene standards for food packaging materials, standards for
special dietary food, standards for signs or labels on food
packages, standards for the management and control of the safe
production of food and standards for testing methods concerning
food. These standards apply to edible agricultural products and
processed food, such as grain, oil, fruit and vegetable, milk and
dairy products, meat, poultry, eggs and related products, aquatic
products, soft and alcoholic drinks, condiments and infant food;
and cover each sector from food production, processing and
distribution to final consumption. So far, China has promulgated
over 1,800 national standards concerning food safety, and over
2,900 standards for the food industry, among which 634 national
standards are compulsory.
To solve such problems as food safety standards overlapping each
other and poorly organized, China has sorted out the over 1,800
national standards, over 2,500 industrial standards, over 7,000
local standards and over 140,000 enterprise standards, repealing
more than 530 national and industrial standards. Meanwhile, it has
speeded up the revision of over 2,460 national and industrial
standards, issued over 200 new national standards, and worked out
plans to enact over 280 national standards. It also works hard to
promote and enforce these standards, and urges food producing
enterprises to strictly abide by them.
??
3. Food Certification and Accreditation System Basically
Established
The Certification and Accreditation Administration of the
People's Republic of China is responsible for administering,
supervising and coordinating certification and accreditation work
throughout the country, putting in order the certification market
and regulating certification activities. A pattern of uniform
administration, standardized operation and common implementation
for the certification and accreditation of food and agricultural
products has come into being, basically establishing a
certification and accreditation system covering the entire process
"from the farming field to dining table." The certification
categories include certification of feeds, GAP certification,
certification of hazard-free agricultural products, certification
of organic products, certification of food quality, certification
of the HACCP management system, and certification of green markets.
At present, China ranks among the top ten countries in the world in
this regard, with 2.03 million hectares producing certificated
organic products. The country has been experimenting with GAP
certification geared to international standards in 286 export
enterprises and agricultural standardization demonstration bases in
18 pilot provinces; 2,675 food producing enterprises have received
HACCP certificates; 28,600 primary agricultural products have
passed the certification tests for hazard-free agricultural
products; and continuous progress is being made in the
certification of feeds, alcoholic beverages by quality grade, and
green markets. The government continuously strengthens its
supervision of certificated products and enterprises, and increases
the authoritativeness and effectiveness of certification.
4. Food Safety Inspection and Testing Framework Taken
Initial Shape
Regarding the supervision of foodstuffs for the domestic market,
China has established a number of qualified food inspection and
testing institutions, bringing into initial being a food safety
inspection and testing framework with "state-level inspection
institutions playing the leading role, provincial- and
ministerial-level food inspection institutions forming the main
body, and city- and county-level food inspection institutions
acting as supplement." With the improvement of their testing
capability and level, these institutions can satisfy the demands
for quality and safety tests throughout the entire process -- from
the environment of place of origin, input materials, production and
processing, storage and circulation to consumption, and can
basically meet the requirements of national, industrial and
relevant international standards for food safety parameters. China
adopts the certification management that is in line with the
international practice for food laboratories, and strengthens
international mutual recognition, information sharing and joint
tackling of key scientific and technological problems, ensuring the
accuracy and fairness of test results. China has accredited the
qualifications of some food inspection and testing institutions.
Altogether, 3,913 food testing laboratories have passed the
laboratory accreditation (similar to metrology certification) of
China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment
(CNAS) among which 48 are state-level quality inspection centers
for foodstuffs and 35 are key food laboratories. The testing
capability and level of these laboratories have reached a
relatively advanced international standard. As regards the
supervision of import and export foodstuffs, a technical support
system ensuring food safety has taken shape, with the 35
state-level key laboratories playing the leading role. There are
163 inspection and quarantine laboratories for import and export
foodstuffs throughout China, possessing more than 10,000 sets of
large precision instruments of various types. Altogether, 1,189
professionals are directly engaged in the laboratory testing of
import and export foodstuffs in these laboratories, with a rational
age structure and allocation of staff according to their
specialized fields. These laboratories can detect all kinds of
food-borne pathogens and 786 safety or hygienic items, such as
residue of pesticides and veterinary medicines, additives and heavy
metals. By 2006, China had set up 323 state- and ministerial-level
quality inspection centers and 1,780 provincial-, prefecture- and
county-level testing institutions concerned with agricultural
products. Thus, a quality and safety inspection and testing
framework for agricultural products, with these institutions at
different levels supplementing each other, has taken shape,
providing technical support for strengthening the supervision of
the quality and safety of agricultural products.
V. International Exchanges and
Cooperation Regarding Food Safety
The Chinese government sets great store by cooperating with
other countries, regions and international organizations regarding
food safety, as well as by learning advanced management expertise
and monitoring technology, to improve the overall quality of its
foodstuffs.
1. Strengthening Exchanges and Cooperation Regarding
Food Safety Technology
China encourages and supports its technical experts to
participate in various food safety technological training programs,
seminars, exchanges and comparative reviews. It also welcomes
overseas experts to visit China for study or training. Besides the
activities organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), China
has, since 2001, conducted many rounds of technological training
and exchanges on food safety, especially the implementation of the
Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
(SPS), with the US, the EU, Italy, Canada, Germany, the UK,
Switzerland, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand. In
August 2006, China sponsored food safety training for people from
14 South Pacific countries. To furnish itself with timely
information to ensure the foodstuffs it exports are up to the
relevant standards, China has translated the laws on food safety
and hygiene of the US, the EU, Russia, the ROK and other countries
and regions. It has also invited experts from the US, the EU and
Japan to offer training on HACCP application, the National
Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP), residue control and Positive
List System. China's laboratories for import and export food
inspection and quarantine have taken part in several comparative
experiments, such as the Food Analysis Performance Assessment
Scheme (FAPAS) of the UK, and joined on regular intervals the
international proficiency testing conducted by established
certification agencies, such as the Asia Pacific Laboratory
Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC) and the Australia's National
Association of Testing Authorities (NATA). The national center for
disease control and prevention and a dozen provincial ones have
passed the WHO food safety inspection capacity verifications. By
November 2006, a total of 22 inspection agencies had been granted
by the ROK to be "Acknowledged Overseas Official Inspection
Agencies," which means that the food items that pass their checks
will be free from entry inspection in that country. The testing
results of the laboratories of the 35 quality inspection and
quarantine agencies directly under the General Administration of
Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine have also won
acknowledgement from Japan, and many of the laboratories are open
ones and have hosted delegations of experts from the US, Canada,
the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, New
Zealand, Japan, the ROK, Singapore, Hong Kong, as well as other
countries and regions.
2. Actively Participating in International Activities
Regarding Food Safety
The Chinese government has always been a keen advocator of and
participant in international food safety activities. It has
dispatched delegations to the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC),
the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and other
international conferences. Its call for regional cooperation on
food safety at a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) has received positive responses from Australia, New Zealand
and Southeast Asian countries, as a result of which the APEC Food
Safety Cooperation Forum was established, co-chaired by China and
Australia. China actively participates in international
standardization activities for food safety. It is a member of the
Technical Management Board and Committee on Conformity Assessment
of International Organization for Standardization (ISO). In May
2007, it formally joined the World Organization for Animal Health
(OIE). On October 20-21, 2007, it will host, in Nanning, the
China-ASEAN Ministerial Conference on Quality Supervision,
Inspection and Quarantine, with the theme of "Strengthening
Cooperation on Food Safety Management and Protecting Consumer's
Rights." The event will discuss the establishment of a cooperative
mechanism on food safety, so as to increase exchanges and
cooperation among the relevant departments of China and ASEAN to
ensure the quality, safety and sanitation of the foods traded among
them.
3. Striving to Promote International Cooperation
Regarding Food Safety
While organizing regular and irregular seminars or mutual visits
of experts with Japan, the ROK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore,
Norway, Russia, Hong Kong, and other countries and regions, China's
General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and
Quarantine has signed 33 cooperative agreements or memorandums on
food safety and 48 import and export food inspection and quarantine
protocols with 30 countries and regions, namely the US, the EU,
Russia, Japan, the ROK, Singapore, Thailand, Mongolia, Vietnam, the
Philippines, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, Hungary,
Poland, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Brazil, Argentina,
Chile, Mexico, Uruguay, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Hong
Kong and Macao. Thus, a long-term and effective cooperative
mechanism between China and its food trade partners has been
established. And, based on this, the General Administration of
Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has built a system
of annual meetings with many countries and regions. The second
China-EU meeting on safety of food and consumer products at the
ministerial level is scheduled to be held on September 12, 2007 in
Beijing, and the third China-US food safety meeting at the
vice-ministerial level is scheduled on September 11-12, 2007 in the
US.
4. Promoting Food Trade
The food safety cooperative mechanisms established between China
and other countries have greatly promoted bilateral and
multilateral cooperation to ensure the safety of foodstuffs traded
among them and ease the wide concerns about food safety. For
instance, the Sino-Japanese cooperative mechanism plays a key role
in ensuring the safety of Chinese food exported to Japan. After
Japan's release of its Positive List System, the Chinese
government, through communications and negotiations, persuaded
Japan to accept its reasonable proposals and adjust some projects
accordingly, and co-sponsored three demonstrations and eight
special training workshops to help China's food export enterprises
further standardize the use and administration of pesticide and
veterinary medicines, improve the quality tracing system and
guarantee the quality and safety of food exported to Japan. The
China-US food safety cooperative mechanism plays a similar role.
Since the end of 2005, China's entry-exit inspection and quarantine
authorities have continuously found residues of prohibited
medicines, pollutants and pathogenic microbes in US meat products
exported to China. Their timely notification of such information
let the US learn of China's legal requirements concerning food
safety, thus effectively protecting Chinese consumers as well as
ensuring healthy development of US export of meat products to
China. In 2004 and 2005, the two countries, under this cooperative
mechanism, evaluated the safety and sanitation of China's exported
cooked poultry products. The China-EU food safety cooperative
mechanism also works well in solving problems both sides are
concerned about. Through timely communication and on the basis of
risk assessment, China has solved problems in the import of pork
products from some dioxin-affected EU countries. While continuously
improving its own food safety management and epidemic prevention
and control work, it has actively cooperated with the EU in
undertaking hygienic system inspection and risk appraisal which
helps build confidence in China's cooked poultry products. The EU
has worked out a timetable to resume imports of China's cooked
poultry products in 2007.
Food is the first necessity of man, and it is the most direct
and most important consumption product of mankind. China is a
responsible country, and the Chinese government is devoted to
working for the benefits of the people. Over the years, the Chinese
government has endeavored to improve food quality, ensure food
safety and protect consumers around the world. But, it must be
pointed out that China is still a developing country, and the
overall level of food safety, including the standards and the
industrialization level of food production, still lags behind that
of developed countries. China has a long way to go to improve the
quality of foodstuffs. Food quality and safety is a common concern
of the human society and a shared duty of the international
community. As a large importer and exporter of food, China is keen
to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with other countries and
make unremitting efforts to ensure the safety of food and promote
the healthy growth of the global food trade.
(China.org.cn August 17, 2007)
