China Announces New Food Safety Measures, Cooperation with United States
China Announces New Food Safety Measures, Cooperation with United States
by Joel Haggard, USMEF senior vice president, Asia Pacific Region
One day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) opened three offices in China - its first overseas - the Chinese government announced that it would station its own food safety officials in the United States to keep a "stringent" check on U.S. imports from China. According to China's health minister, China will dispatch officials to the United States from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), and the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA). No timetable has been set for their arrival in the United States.
These bilateral food safety actions come on the heels of the FDA's Nov. 12 import alert authorizing detention without inspection of all Chinese milk products, milk-derived ingredients and finished food products containing milk. Chinese manufacturers and importers of these product categories must provide the FDA with third-party lab tests verifying the absence of melamine contamination, or prove that no milk ingredients are contained in the products. In the Nov. 19 China Daily – China’s English-language daily newspaper – editors expressed regret over the FDA's "unilateral" action on Chinese dairy imports, but acknowledged that China’s new level of cooperation with the FDA will "enhance efforts to protect consumers in both countries."
In other announcements, China's health minister said that the government would establish three "state-level" committees on food safety, focused on risk analysis, standards setting and food-safety research. State media also made reference to consideration of a "coordination mechanism" whereby the various food safety responsibilities of the myriad ministries, departments and local level organizations will be better managed. Along with international observers, China's own state leaders have decried the lack of cooperation between government departments charged with food safety responsibilities.
In a separate statement, China's ministry of agriculture announced it would spend $73 million of the recent $584 billion national fiscal stimulus package to set up a series of national, regional, provincial and county level agricultural product inspection centers. These centers will seek to ensure the safety of agricultural products at the farm gate level. Currently, China's agriculture ministry holds safety responsibilities for agricultural and livestock products up until the processing factory or marketplace, while AQSIQ regulates processing plants and quality and safety standards for food products.
While all of these food safety announcements represent progress, the establishment of an effective coordinating mechanism - both horizontally among national ministries and vertically into the provinces and rural areas – is a sign of serious reform. China's adoption of a more risk-based approach to food safety will ultimately help U.S. exporters of red meat to China. For example, risk analysis of the presence and dangers of pathogens in both domestic and imported meats could help make China’s safety standards more consistent with international guidelines.
China Announces New Food Safety Measures, Cooperation with United States
by Joel Haggard, USMEF senior vice president, Asia Pacific Region
One day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) opened three offices in China - its first overseas - the Chinese government announced that it would station its own food safety officials in the United States to keep a "stringent" check on U.S. imports from China. According to China's health minister, China will dispatch officials to the United States from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), and the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA). No timetable has been set for their arrival in the United States.
These bilateral food safety actions come on the heels of the FDA's Nov. 12 import alert authorizing detention without inspection of all Chinese milk products, milk-derived ingredients and finished food products containing milk. Chinese manufacturers and importers of these product categories must provide the FDA with third-party lab tests verifying the absence of melamine contamination, or prove that no milk ingredients are contained in the products. In the Nov. 19 China Daily – China’s English-language daily newspaper – editors expressed regret over the FDA's "unilateral" action on Chinese dairy imports, but acknowledged that China’s new level of cooperation with the FDA will "enhance efforts to protect consumers in both countries."
In other announcements, China's health minister said that the government would establish three "state-level" committees on food safety, focused on risk analysis, standards setting and food-safety research. State media also made reference to consideration of a "coordination mechanism" whereby the various food safety responsibilities of the myriad ministries, departments and local level organizations will be better managed. Along with international observers, China's own state leaders have decried the lack of cooperation between government departments charged with food safety responsibilities.
In a separate statement, China's ministry of agriculture announced it would spend $73 million of the recent $584 billion national fiscal stimulus package to set up a series of national, regional, provincial and county level agricultural product inspection centers. These centers will seek to ensure the safety of agricultural products at the farm gate level. Currently, China's agriculture ministry holds safety responsibilities for agricultural and livestock products up until the processing factory or marketplace, while AQSIQ regulates processing plants and quality and safety standards for food products.
While all of these food safety announcements represent progress, the establishment of an effective coordinating mechanism - both horizontally among national ministries and vertically into the provinces and rural areas – is a sign of serious reform. China's adoption of a more risk-based approach to food safety will ultimately help U.S. exporters of red meat to China. For example, risk analysis of the presence and dangers of pathogens in both domestic and imported meats could help make China’s safety standards more consistent with international guidelines.