SCIO briefing on food security in China
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E-mail China.org.cn, October 16, 2019
Phoenix TV:
The quality of food is related to the food safety for consumers. In recent years, all sectors of society have paid close attention to the quality and safety of food. What measures has the government taken to bolster these efforts and secure the public's "safety on the tongue?" Thank you.
Zhang Wufeng:
Your question is very good; Mr. Huang Wei please answer the question.
Huang Wei:
People are very concerned about grain quality. Let me summarize our experiences. I think the key to solving this problem comes in two parts: On one hand, we focus on the production to make sure food is safe from the source; on the other hand, we must focus on the sales section so we can supervise the whole process. Grain has a strong specialty. It can be eaten directly and is the basic raw material for other foods. Therefore, eating unqualified grain will affect the health of the human body. Processing unqualified grain as raw materials will also affect food safety. So, it is very important.
There are many factors affecting the quality of food, including objective factors of production conditions such as soil, water source and even the surrounding climate and environment, as well as the artificial input factors such as seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. After grain is produced, quality problems may also occur during its storage, processing and transportation. Therefore, as this reporter raised the issue of "safety on the tongue", I would say that the issue is a systematic project involving multiple subjects, multiple links, and multiple fields. The key is to focus on the governance at source and make sure the whole process is supervised. We should really do a good job in supervising and managing the whole process from the farming fields to the dining table, in order to ensure that the people eat safely, healthily and eat with confidence.
First, we must control the source. We will continue to supervise the production process; reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides; use organic fertilizers; strengthen agricultural pollution control and the remediation of contaminated soils; ensure that food can be produced in good soil and water conditions; and make sure grain is of high quality from the very source. Through our hard work, so far, China has now reduced the use of fertilizers and pesticides.
The second is to manage the stock well. It is not easy to grow grain, and it is also difficult to store grain. China is a big grain storage country, and a large quantity of grain is in a state of reserve. Grain is an organism that can breathe, heat, and have life. If it is not properly stored, it will have mold and insect damage, and its quality will decline. In order to ensure quality and safety, and in addition to vigorously improving the conditions of storage facilities, we also promote and use advanced, green technologies and crafts such as intelligent ventilation, circulation fumigation, low temperature storage, and nitrogen storage to ensure good food quality.
The third is full process supervision. On the one hand, monitoring and early warning should be strictly implemented on the production and inventory links. When grain is growing in the fields, we must pay attention to its quality problems; increase the sample amount, coverage and pertinence for monitoring; timely learn the change of the quality of food; and discover problems. According to the statistics of our food system, the number of monitoring samples has been increasing. The total number of monitoring samples reached 520,000 last year. The statistics of the recent five years showed that the number increased by 31.4% compared with the past, so we have put a lot of effort into this aspect and do a good job in monitoring and early warning, and keep well-informed regarding the quality of food.
On the other hand, we must do a good job in food inspection in circulation. For each batch of grain and every business entity, we strictly implement the grain quality inspection system to strictly prevent unqualified grain from flowing into the grain market. Once unqualified grain is found, the state has a set of special regulations for disposal and it cannot be disposed of at will. In the process, if some entities and individuals are found to be not doing a good job, we will resolutely hold them accountable according to the laws and regulations. We will punish anyone if we find any violations. This will not be tolerated.
Finally, I want to emphasize that the quality of food is the most important issue, and we must be responsible for it. To solve the concerns and expectations of the people, base on our experience in the work, I think the most fundamental thing is to implement the "four strictest requirements" put forward by General Secretary Xi Jinping, which are: using the strictest standards, the strictest supervision, the strictest punishment, and the strictest accountability. We will resolutely safeguard every link of grain production and supply, from farmland to dining table, and earnestly guarantee the "safety on the tongue" for the people, because this is what every citizen cares about. Thank you.
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