China will tighten supervision and management of domestic food
production and processing to ensure quality, safety and hygiene in
2007, according to the General Administration of Quality
Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China (AQSIQ).
The Administration said monitoring would focus on food
additives, packaging, containers and production facilities. Firms
that produced these products would also be monitored.
Companies that manufactured fake or shoddy goods would be
punished in line with laws while firms using food additives
arbitrarily or adding toxic and harmful ingredients to processing
would be penalized.
The administration said only firms that passed government
qualifications tests could process food. Twenty-nine firms had been
licensed to produce plastic food packs, containers and
facilities.
China has more than 3,700 companies engaging in the production
of plastic bags, containers and tools for food making. More than
1,000 are poorly-equipped small firms with each having fewer than
10 employees.
(Xinhua News Agency December 29, 2006)