The Ministry of Commerce, in conjunction with other five
national ministries, held a teleconference on Wednesday to launch a
four-month nationwide campaign against pork adulteration. They
agreed to subject water-added pork processors to public exposure
and criticism.
The campaign is considered an integral part of the national war
against problematic food. By the end of this year, a network for
authorized sales and slaughter outlets should be well established;
all the urban markets and catering houses shall sell or use pork
from authorized outlets, making quality certificates, invoices, and
purchasing accounts a must.
The regulators at the teleconference asked departments at all
levels to correct any regulatory oversights on breeding, slaughter,
processing, quarantine systems, and illegal meat
trading.
Any pork adulteration involving diseased, water-injected, and
unqualified pork sales will receive punishment depending on the
degree of violation.
(China.org.cn by He Shan, September 6, 2007)