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Amendments to food safety standards completed

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-07-04 10:29

The government has finished making amendments to all food safety standards, according to sources from the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

China has made changes to 1,817 national standards for edible agricultural products and processed foods, and abolished 208 standards. Meanwhile, 2,588 standards set by the food industry, 6,949 standards established by local governments, as well as over 140,000 enterprise standards have been amended, according to Liu pingjun, head of the SAC.

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By the end of last year, there were 1,965 national standards in total for food safety, among which 634 were mandatory standards. They were accompanied by 2,892 food industry standards to further ensure the food safety, he said.

Liu said the standardization process of Chinese food industry was improving every year. The government has drawn up a mid- and long-term development plan for food safety standards, and set up 62 standardization technique commissions. By the end of 2010, the average duration of food standards will be reduced to 4.5 years from the current 12 years. Food standards should be amended at least every two years.

Meanwhile, an emergency response mechanism among several ministries has been established to deal with major problems concerning food safety, he said.

Liu also noted the government would further promote construction of the Agricultural Standardized Demonstration Areas (ASDA) in rural areas. Around 6,000 state-level ASDAs will be set up within three years. A complete standardization system covering food processing and transportion will also be established in these areas.