Chinese Food Safety: Updates Proposed
In July, the Chinese National People’s Congress released a new draft of updates to its Food Safety Law (see IBO 11/15/13). The changes to the law could have widespread impact, given the country’s growth due to investment and its role as a global food producer. By region, Chinese demand is the fastest growing in the instruments market for food testing and analysis.
The Food Safety Law was last updated in 2009, and China has since had many food-safety incidents, including the recent discovery of spoiled meat in fast food and the presence of fox in what was sold as donkey meat. The information in this article is based on the USDA’s July GAIN Report translating the proposed updates.
The law would apply to the producing or processing (i.e., producing) of food, the distributing or catering (i.e., trading) of food; the producing or trading of food additives; and the producing or of trading food-related products, such as utensils, equipment, packaging and disinfectants. The highest priority of the law would be prevention, followed by risk management and process control.
Duties to enact the law would be divided among several agencies, many of them assumed by the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) and the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC). The Chinese State Council would create and determine the duties of the Food Safety Committee. The CFDA would execute the Food Safety Commission’s work, and regulate food production and trading. The NHFPC would conduct surveillance of risks to food safety, assess risk and establish food-safety standards for the country.
Responsibilities outlined in the law would be carried out by several levels of government. The national food-safety risk-surveillance plan would monitor hazards such as food contamination and foodborne diseases, and would be developed and executed by the Commission and other departments of the State Council. Enforcement of regional plans of food-safety risk would be carried out by governments at the county level and above.
Food-safety standards would include methods and protocols for food testing, and establish limits of health hazards in food, food additives and food-related products, and be “mandatory” for the country. Such hazards include biotoxins, heavy metals, pathogenic microorganisms, pesticide residues and veterinary-drug residues. In addition to its duties listed above, the NHFPC would also determine risks of feed, feed additives, fertilizers, pesticides and veterinary drugs using scientific methods. Testing procedures would be developed for the slaughter of livestock and poultry.
The proposal also addresses the addition of dangerous substances to food. Nonfood material, recycled or expired food, chemicals outside of food additives and other possible hazardous substances would be forbidden. Also prohibited would be spoiled food, mold, insects and other foreign substances. Food additives would be allowed within limits.
While the government would establish regulations and conduct oversight, the parties responsible for food safety would be food producers and traders, which would be required to enact control requirements such as regular self-inspections. The State would also encourage them to conduct basic and applied research on food safety, and to incorporate advanced technologies and management practices. Food is proposed to be tested by agencies accredited in compliance with State requirements. Departments regulating food and drugs at the level of county and above would test food products. Should a food-safety incident occur, the department regulating food and drugs, at the county level or above, would be required to immediately conduct testing to confirm contamination of the food material.
Specific requirements are listed in the draft law for those items considered priorities for the regional annual food-safety regulatory work plans of county and higher levels of government. These include “special” foods for infants and other specific populations, health food, producers and traders with higher food-safety risk and food with higher food-safety risk, as determined by surveillance. Health-food ingredients would have to match those indicated on their labels, and the State would strictly regulate production of infant formula and food. In addition, imported foods and food additives would be inspected on entry into the country by China Inspection and Quarantine (CIQ) services. Exported foods may also be inspected by CIQ.
Violations of the law would result in stricter penalties than at present, ranging from fines to imprisonment. The proposed law was open to public comment until July 31.