Amidst uproars that it is exporting unsafe products from toothpaste to pet food, China’s regulatory standards chief has guaranteed to review food safety norms in the country.
Of late, Chinese products have been found to be containing toxics that prove harmful to the lives of many of its international consumers. And recently, a drug racket was also busted in the country that said that many of Chinese hospitals are supplying patients with fake drugs.
Several countries from Latin America to Asia have rejected Chinese-made toothpaste while Chinese pet food contaminated with the chemical melamine was blamed for dog and cat deaths in North America. Other products turned away by U.S. inspectors include toxic monkfish, frozen eel and juice blend with unsafe color additives. A Chinese medicine ingredient is believed to have killed 100 people in Panama.
As a counterattack amidst uproarious campaigns against its products, China recently highlighted at least four American products as unsafe or not up to Chinese safety standards. China and U.S. therefore signed a anti-piracy agreement to trample the flourishing counterfeit industry.
Liu Pingjun, chief of the National Standardization Management Commission, assured that China would speed up amendments to national and industry standards on farm produce and processed food products. Liu did not say what was wrong with the current standards or how they differed from international ones, however, he declared that China products would meet international standards from now on.
Safety officials have been advised better supervision at all levels and urged to set up a food recall system, which would be the country’s first.
As a food safety measure, recently Wan Maomao Frozen Food Co was ordered to stop production of zongzi, a traditional snack made of glutinous rice and other fillings usually wrapped in bamboo leaves, after it was caught to be repackaging the filling from two-year-old rice dumplings. Also, the national quality inspection administration found 10% of the dumplings had failed tests because they contained excessive amounts of food additives. However, there were no reports of anyone falling ill from eating the dumplings.
Besides tainted food, China has long been the world’s leading source of illegally copied goods ranging from designer clothes to movies and music.
Many eyebrows have been raised even before this, but how effective the recent step to update and boost enforcement of food safety rules on the part of Chinese government would be, only time will tell.
Via: Yahoo
