China Passes Food-Safety Law

BEIJING—Following years of food-safety scandals, including a melamine scandal that killed at least six children and sickened 300,000 last year, China’s legislature passed a new Food Safety Law on Feb. 28.

The new law goes into effect on June 1 and will enhance monitoring and supervision, toughen safety standards, recall substandard products and severely punish offenders, reported the state-run Xinhua news agency.

"At present, China's food security situation remains grim with high risks and contradictions," the Ministry of Health said in documents handed to reporters on Monday.

According to Xinhua, a state-level food safety commission will be set up to oversee the entire food-monitoring system, whose lack of efficiency has been blamed for repeated scandals. Departments of health, agriculture, quality supervision, industry and commerce administration will oversee different responsibilities, including risk evaluation, the making and implementation of safety standards, and the monitoring of the food production and circulation sectors.

The law stipulated a ban on all chemicals and materials other than authorized additives in food production, saying that "only those items proved to be safe and necessary in food production are allowed to be listed as food additives."

For a current overview of safety and regulatory issues, market trends, and how China is having an impact on your business, industry experts will be presenting an informative update as a part of the nutrition track April 27, 2009, at SupplySide East in Secaucus, N.J.  Visit SupplySideShow.com/East for more details.