Chinese-made goods have come under intense scrutiny in recent
months. They have been banned or recalled in the US and in a
growing number of other countries. Problems have ranged from
potentially dangerous levels of toxins or chemicals in seafood to
poisonous toothpaste ingredients and tainted dog food.
There can be no doubt that there are problems with food safety
supervision in China. This has been recognized by the Government
and progress has already been made in addressing concerns following
a spate of recent food safety scares. Looking at such issues across
the whole of China for both domestic and export consumers is no
small task. It involves the interplay of such factors as regulatory
and supervisory systems, environmental pollution, and even trade
barriers.
US seafood controls
China's colossal surplus in bi-lateral seafood trade has led to
tensions with the US and seafood imports have become the target of
trade protectionism.
On June 28 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a
series of warning reports. These banned Chinese farm-raised seafood
imports unless the suppliers provided proof that the shipments were
free from harmful residues.
Between October 2006 and May 2007, the FDA had already broadened
import controls on all farm-raised seafood products from China.
Imports of catfish, bass, eel, shrimp and dace were particularly
affected. It reported repeatedly finding farm-raised seafood with
the unapproved antimicrobial agents nitrofuran (cancer-causing) and
malachite green.
In an age of globalization, this food safety issue can be traced
all the way back to farmers like Lu Yuguang. Lu and his wife run a
shrimp farm in Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong Province. Each
year, wholesalers purchase his prawns, zebra lobsters and crabs. It
seems they were still in the dark concerning the FDA reports on the
safety of Chinese seafood.
A reporter with the China Newsweek told him about the
reports of shrimps affected by residues. But he remained skeptical
and defended the safety of his shrimps, "I use saltwater and boiled
fingerlings to feed my shrimps. Even if the fingerlings are
contaminated, boiling will kill any harmful microorganisms." An
acceptable explanation? Well perhaps not when the tests are
sensitive and nitrofuran and malachite can be found in the Yellow
Sea where the fingerlings originated.
Japan's positive list
Japan brought in a positive list system on May 29, 2006. This
requires the examination of food products for agricultural chemical
residues originating from pesticides, veterinary medicines, and
livestock feed additives.
The standards are rigorous and have put a damper on certain
Chinese exports to Japan. Eel production, the single largest
category, has been hit especially hard. What's more, the Japanese
food administration has further clamped down on imported eels from
China by adding additional tests to detect even very small traces
of nitrofuran.
In 2006, China exported just 12,300 tons of live eels valued at
some US$130 million to Japan. This marked a considerable decrease
in quantity, and of course in profits, for Chinese producers
compared with 2005. Broiled eel exports were similarly
affected.
Allegations concerning "contaminated eels" are always sure to
spark heated debate, cause public concern, and influence consumer
choices.
Free trade?
In March 2006, following receipt of a report on import volumes,
the Japanese Ministry of Commerce was quick to comment on rising
fears over Chinese penetration into Japanese markets.
It was about this time that a series of exaggerated reports on
Chinese-made eels began to gnaw away at Japanese consumer
confidence. Since Japan's introduction of the positive list system,
China's food exports to Japan have actually grown a little, but
significantly the rate of increase has declined.
Food detentions and rejections in America, Japan, and the EU do
seem to have a disproportionate impact on seafood from China, which
topped the lists of all three for the January to May figures last
year.
FDA projections show that the farm-raised seafood industry can
be expected to grow in leaps and bounds to account for half of the
world's seafood consumption. China is by far the major farm-raised
seafood supplier, producing 70 percent of world output. It is also
the third largest exporter of seafood to the US where one shrimp in
every 10 is from China together with one catfish in every 50.
Domestic consumers
Hot-pot restaurants where fresh meat and vegetables are cooked
right there on the table are a great favorite in China. Beijing
Xiabu Xiabu Fast Food Chain Store Co Ltd owns the city's Xiabu
Xiabu hot-pot restaurants. Two months ago it responded to
international concerns over food safety by investing 18,000 yuan
(about US$2,400) in a pesticide-testing machine to guarantee the
safety of its vegetables.
According to Mei Xinyu, "The supervision of small and
medium-sized food processing establishments and restaurants is more
relaxed than for the big companies." Mei is a researcher with the
Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a
research and advisory arm affiliated to the Ministry of
Commerce.
China's fruit and vegetable production has nearly doubled since
2001. This is good news for healthy living but food safety cannot
be easily guaranteed when pollution levels have also been on the
increase.
According to Chen Tongbin, "Supervision of farmland pollution
should be considered to be as important as that of food production
itself. Systematic supervision of food supply chains can save the
country from potentially huge losses." Chen is a geographic
researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In an incident in
early 2006, more than 100 pigs died of arsenic poisoning in
Xinxiang County of Henan Province. Concentrations of the heavy
metal in pig feed were found to be ten times over the safety
standards.
Last year, the Ministry of Commerce introduced a series of food
safety regulations covering food processing to purchasing. This
year, the food industry is waiting for new regulations to be
extended to slaughterhouses and food packaging.
However, despite ever-tightening regulations, pollution means
that food safety problems continue to appear. Last June, the
Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare warned its citizens
to be cautious when importing Chinese mussels from the sea around
Dalu Island of northern China's Liaoning Province. The mussels were
considered likely to contain Paralytic Seashell Poison. According
to the ministry, Japanese importers should remain cautious until
the sea becomes clean.
Standards
As of 2006, China had 1,965 national standards concerning food
safety. Of these 634 were compulsory and the others optional. In
addition, the Chinese food production sector had by then developed
a further 2,892 standards of its own.
Today in China, the government is directly addressing food
safety issues. It has placed a renewed emphasis on the hygiene and
quality of farm products and processed food. It is accelerating the
work of formulating standards concerning food production and also
for food and beverage services. China is expected to issue its
first set of national criteria for foodstuffs by the end of this
year.
Cao Desheng, of the China General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC),
said they were working on scientific standards for special food
products based on current market circumstances. He believes that
food safety can be assured if all the relevant standards are
properly implemented. But many still doubt if all these official
standards can actually be applied by law-enforcement agencies,
government departments and officials operating at grass-roots
level.
Meanwhile, Cao argues that the public should be prepared to
accept that regional differences and timescales for implementation
will get in the way of a uniform application of the standards.
Third party inspection and testing
This July, the Philippines Bureau of Food and Drugs claimed that
the famous White Rabbit candies produced by Guan Sheng Yuan (Group)
Company Ltd contained formaldehyde.
Guan Sheng Yuan immediately turned for help to the Shanghai
Branch of SGS, a world leading inspection and testing company. SGS
carried out thorough testing and reported that the White Rabbit
candy tested was free from formaldehyde. This authoritative report
helped Guan Sheng Yuan deal with the issue within four days.
This high profile incident put the Shanghai Branch of SGS into
the spotlight and focused public attention on the role of the third
party inspection and testing organizations. As matter of fact, such
organizations are well-known to Chinese enterprises seeking to do
business in overseas markets. They provide Chinese companies
with testing services that have helped many overcome the technical
barriers that developed countries might use to prevent or delay the
entry of Chinese companies into their markets.
With so many food safety issues now surfacing, such third party
organizations are becoming more and more important. Zhang Yan of
SGS believes they can make a difference in three ways:
• Widely recognized as being fair and objective, they
represent an important third party force in the battle to assure
safety and quality in Chinese food by providing reliable
information to consumers.
• They play a major supporting role helping the authorities
that monitor food safety and quality.
• They do a vital job connecting Chinese food producers with
global markets by encouraging them to work to international
standards.
Small scale production
Small scale food production facilities are very common in China
today. In fact, they have been on the scene for over a thousand
years and are a distinct part of China's heritage and culture.
Moreover they provide job opportunities for millions and
convenience for ordinary consumers. Unfortunately they now pose one
of the gravest threats to the nation's food safety.
These small enterprises usually operate without any business
license. They employ fewer than ten people who are normally family
members or casual workers. Poorly equipped, they cannot provide
good working environments. Worse still, the food they make does not
go through any quality monitoring and examination procedures. These
products are unlikely to fully meet the standards set by the
authorities and are sometimes even discovered to have poisonous
ingredients.
According to official regulations, food production workers
should be in good health and free from any infectious disease. But
employee health is not high on the agenda and workers will most
probably never have had any sort of medical check carried out
directly in connection with their employment.
Solving these problems is a real headache for the authorities.
Small food processing businesses are widely distributed across
China. New outlets are continuously springing up while others close
their doors. Large numbers are involved, no one knows for sure but
estimates are in the half to one million range. However, the
General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and
Quarantine (GAQSIQ) is determined to act to shut down substandard
operations. In July this year it issued a regulation prohibiting
food from these small producers from being distributed to local
stores and supermarkets or marketed outside their own county-level
administrative regions. This shows GAQSIQ aims to restrict
distribution channels within manageable areas to facilitate
monitoring. Many people have welcomed the regulation, considering
it benefits both the industry and the consumer. However, others
view it as prejudicial to the interests of small producers.
Dr. Hu Dinghuan of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences'
Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development said it is
necessary for the government to adopt drastic measures to tackle
substandard food production. However the government should proceed
step by step rather than rushing into dealing with the problems
with small producers.
What all the experts agree on is that it is absolutely essential
to improve current food safety laws and management systems in order
to deal effectively with substandard food production.
(China.org.cn by He Shan, Wu Jin and Pang Li, September 13,
2007)
