Enhancing Food Safety Laws in China: Situation and Reform Plan

1. ◊International Symposium “Food Safety: Consumer, Trade, and Regulation Issues” ◊The Situation and Reform Plan about the Food Safety Legislation and Regulations in China中国食品安全管理规制的 现状和改革思路 Xiaofeng Zhao Northwest Sci-Tec University of Agriculture and Forestry 中国▪西北农林科技大学

2. Background: Current situations of food consumption in China • Food consumption level with its quantity is improving 食品消费水平和质量不断提高 • Increasing demand for "safe, nutritious, and tasty" food 消费者对“安全、营养和美味”食品的需求日益增加 • Informational chains of food safety were broken，Many foodpoisioning accidents occurred annually 食品质量安全的信息链割裂，食品中毒事件频发 • Food quality grades are uneven, high quality products cannot guarante good prices 食品质量等级参差不齐，难以保证优质优价

3. Changes of Engel Coefficient in China(%)

4. Data of heavy foodpoisioning accidents in China(1998-first half of 2003)

5. Background: Main origins of unsafe food • Pollution comes from farming 种养业的源头污染 • Industrial pollution deteriorated agricultural environment 工业污染对生态环境的破坏 • Illegal food production and trade 非法食品生产和贸易 • Some restaurants and other catering business have no necessary sanitations 餐饮业卫生条件不合格 • Consumers lack common scene of food consumption 部分消费者缺乏食品消费的常识

6. Causes of foodpoisioning accidents

7. Organizations involved in food safety supervision-Where we are now? • Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) • Ministry of Health (MOH) • State Administration for Industry & Commerce (SAIC) • State General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) • Ministry of Commerce (MOC) • State Administration of Environmental Protection (SAEP) • State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA)

8. Organizations involved in food safety supervision and their functions -Where we are now?

9. Current management systems on food safety-Where we are now? • Agricultural technical standards system has formed basically 农业技术标准体系基本形成 • Quality certification system is on the way 质量认证体系建设开始起步 • Test system on agricultural products was set up initially 农产品检测检验体系逐步建立

10. Progress on the management of food safety -Where we are now? • “Pollution-free food movement plan” was promoted “无公害食品行动计划” 全面推进 • Production of green food is in large scale 绿色食品发展初具规模 • Organic food was exported 有机食品走向世界 • Standards of quality safety were advanced steadily 质量安全标准逐步推广 • Market access system of food safety was put into effect 食品质量安全市场准入制度开始实施

11. “Pollution-free food movement plan” was promoted nationally • From July 7th, 2001, preliminary experiences of the plan carried on in the selected cities. • MOA promoted the Plan nationally in the July of 2002 • On May 25th, 2003, the fist catalogue of 214 kinds of pollution-free agricultural products which attained certificate was published. These certificates belong to 155 enterprises in China and they are totaled 2.12 million tons.

12. Production of green food is in large scale • China has developed green food in 1990s. • 30 per cent of green food is primary products and 70 per cent is processed products. • The output amounted to 25 million tons and the sales reached RMB￥59.7 billion including export sales of US$ 0.84 billion in 2002 • 4.45 million ha. green food production field’s environment was monitored

13. Organic food was exported • China’s organic food has experienced steady development in 1990s • By the end of 2002, there were about 200 kinds of organic food • SAEP has granted 10.67 thousand ha. organic production base and 17.33 thousand ha. conversion base • The export sales of organic food have increase from US$ 300 thousand in 1995 to US$ 0.1billion in 2001

14. Technical standards of food safety were advanced steadily • In October of 2001, AQSIQ has issued eight items of state standards of pollution-free agricultural products, which involves 15 kinds of products • MOA has issued 45 items of green food standards in 1995 and 2002 • SAEP has implemented Technical Regulations of Organic Food (April of 2002) and OFDC Organic Food Standards (July of 2003)

15. Market access system of food safety was put into effect • From August 1st of 2003 on, AQSIQ has initiated the market access system of food quality safety nationally. The movement has regulated the quality safety of wheat powder, rice, edible oil, sauce and vinegar by production license, compulsory delivery inspection and quality safety mark. • It is said that the movement will popularize to other 10 sorts of daily food by the end of 2003

16. Defects 1: current legislations and regulations on food safety • The system of legislations and regulations on food quality safety were imperfect 食品安全的法律法规不健全 • The system of food safety needs to be improved 食品安全管理体系不健全 • Hazards were not recognized and disposed as they should be 对各种危害认识不足，处罚太轻

17. The imperfect system of legislations and regulations on food safety • Main existing legislations: • Agricultural Law, Product Quality Law, Food Hygiene Law • some quality standards of pollution-free food, green food and organic food But, • not a general law which aimed at assuring quality safety on whole food supply chain and consumer’s interests • there is still not legislation on quality responsibility of primary agricultural and livestock products.

18. The system of food safety needs to be improved • Not a comprehensive quality standards system which includes all food, and most of quality standards fall far behind the international levels or advanced levels • Not a uniform food certification system • Food test system is imperfect • Not a national monitoring system of food safety • Social service system of quality safety needs to be established

19. Hazards were not recognized and disposed as they should be • the punishment to the violators was so light that it can not crack down on serious food safety criminal activities utterly

20. Defects 2: polymanagement on food safety • It is difficult to coordinate effectively among supervisors of food safety 多头管理，业务操作中难以有效协调 • The isolated organizational system of food safety makes against systemic food supervision 各自为政的食品安全组织体系，不利于进行系统的风险监管 • Reaction on the accidents of food safety was delayed 影响到食品安全事故的反应能力

21. Supervisors involved in whole food supply chain

22. Defects 3: Communication between supervisors and producers was not enough • Farmers are lack of the production concept in accordance with some standards 农民缺乏按照标准生产的意识 • Supervisors emphasize on market inspection while neglect the instruction and proper guidance in the production 重视市场检验而忽视生产中的制定和合理引导 • Farmers and traders are lack of necessary food safety knowledge 生产经营者缺乏必要的食品安全知识

23. Defects 4: Construction of market system and supervision of food circulation were neglected • Wholesale food market in the production place were lagged behind the demand, and the supervision of retail market was in disorder 农畜产品产地批发市场的发展不能满足需要，食品零售管理无序 • Managerial techniques and facilities for agricultural logistics need to be improved 农业物流的管理技术和设施急需提高和完善

24. Reform plan 1: Enacting Food Safety Laws, and Setting up a Uniform Food Safety Bureau (SFSB) • The aim of food safety laws: • assuring national food safety • preventing from the risks which can be predicted • granting full authority to SFSB in supervising the whole food supply chain and national food safety

25. Reform plan 1: Enacting Food Safety Laws, and Setting up a Uniform Food Safety Bureau • SFSB’s tasks: • assuring the national food safety-primary task • supervising quality safety of agricultural input materials • advancing new production techniques on food safety • supervising good performance in food production • popularizing the knowledge of food safety • cooperating with foreign food safety organization

26. Reform plan 2: Perfecting management system of food safety • Food quality standards system 食品质量标准体系 • Food quality certification system 食品质量认证体系 • Food quality test system 食品质量检验检测体系 • Food risk alert and rapid reaction system 食品风险预警和快速反应体系

27. Food quality standards system • Set up and perfect environmental monitoring standards system, technical standards system of food safety, food grading system, establish technical standards of GMP in all links of food supply chain • Formulate and revise food technical standards which closely related to consumer’s daily life initially • Extend the standards in the modern agricultural zones in advance • All the technical standards should be based on scientific research, and should be examined and verified periodically • Strengthen the enforcement and popularization of food quality standards

28. Food quality certification system • Make efforts in constructing the organizational system of certification • Enact and perfect legislation and regulations on certification, production license and hygiene registration • Strengthen the construction of certificating business system

29. Food quality test system • Increase quality test stations in grass-roots • Increase the budget on the replacement of old equipments and employee’s training • Extend the test scopes • Develop the test system with a tactical way

30. Food risk alert and rapid reaction system • Develop responsibility system and traceability system of food quality safety • Four main subsystems: • risk informational system • rapid notification system • organizational system of risk precaution • rapid reaction system of accidents.

31. Reform plan 3: Strengthening the supervision on the principal food producers • The leading enterprises and cooperative economic organizations are focal supervising units 以龙头企业和合作经济组织为工作重点 • Food production bases are the centre of the food safety 以食品，尤其是农畜产品生产基地为中心开展工作

32. Reform plan 4: Strengthening the construction of market system, and taking advantage of agricultural logistics to assuring food safety • The normalization of food market system should be strengthened 加强食品市场体系的规范化建设 • Circulating facilities and relating service system should be improved 促进食品流通市场设施和配套服务体系建设 • Brand construction of agricultural and livestock products should be strengthened 加强农畜产品的品牌建设 to be continued

33. Reform plan 4: Strengthening the construction of market system, and taking advantage of agricultural Logistics to assuring food safety • Convenient instant test techniques should be developed 开发简便易行的食品质量安全快速检测技术 • Perfecting market informational system of food quality Safety 完善食品安全的市场信息系统

34. Reform plan 5: Popularizing the national education on food safety • Training farmers and enterprise’s Employee 农民和企业职工的安全教育和培训 • National education on food consumption 全民安全食品消费教育

35. Thanks and Questions ! • Email: zhao1198@sohu.com • Tel: (0086)29-7092320(O) (0086)29-7091198(H) • http://www.nwsuaf.edu.cn/cem/