The embarrassment of food safety standards

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February 10, 2012

Article by Lisa

“Pure” event dust not lean falls, “dyeing steamed bread,” “beef paste”, “veterinary medicine bean sprouts come again. Frequent food safety accidents, overwhelming. What kind of food is safe? People ask the probes, and recently reported source of food safety standards “inside and outside the news of different”.What is foreign food safety standards too strict, or national standard is too wide, provides an opportunity for enterprise?

Safety standards “inside and outside has”? According to reports, the data from the Swedish study institution, said part of the brand production such as nestle baby food contains arsenic, lead poisoned heavy metals, such as unsafe. In Sweden, the product quantity of arsenic 1.7 microgram/kg will be seen as “contain carcinogenic heavy metal”, and our country health ministry released in 2010, two or three hundred micrograms of standard is “belong to safety range.” China’s center for disease control then bulletin, these brands in China products detected the heavy metal content such as arsenic, lead, all did not exceed China standards.

This isn’t peculiar. McDonald’s in 2010 in the U.S. was found chicken mallard containing two chemical composition, “inception” and methyl poly two “special butyl hydroquinone”, and McDonald’s China, says that in response to the two substances content are consistent with current China hygiene standards for use of food additives.

Clearly the same products abroad, and detect unqualified in domestic is usually “safe”. “Different” standards, and has always been the confusion of consumer food safety of one.

China agricultural university school of engineering in food science and nutrition associate professor lee then your reporters, this is true existence. For instance, in dairy and other food industries existed inspection standard, the standards are different, and the developed countries in other countries part index below.

For example, in raw milk per milliliter our standard provisions shall not exceed 200 million bacteria content, but this is a standard in the world aren’t recognized; Be like again, international standards of somatic “cow” test items, this is the important judge whether healthy cattle, and China has no standards and relevant regulations. “And multinational companies as long as satisfy multiple national local standard went throughout the monitoring indicators are not uniform, therefore, this kind of circumstance also is normal.” Lee then your said. State food and drug administration, said SangLiWei training center lecturer every food safety standards are different, but have one thing in common is China’s domestic current food safety standards set each value is not high. In this itself is not high food safety standards, domestic food production are not in accordance with standard to execute, and export food standards but most can do according to the exporter requirements.Data shows, years since China’s food exports all maintained in qualified 99.8 percent above, and domestic food in “years under the background of shake-up, percent of pass is only 90 percent or so. Although only nine percentage points, but the gap expose food safety standards “inside and outside the embarrassment of different”.

Safety standards produces just the bottom line The same arsenic levels, the conclusion are given two countries are totally different. Have unified standards?

According to expert introduction, “food safety law is promulgated after carrying out, China’s current food standards have 3 kinds, one is the national standard, 2 it is local standards, three is the enterprise standard. Among them, the enterprise standard have two kinds of cases, one kind is when product without gb and local standards, the enterprise must make food safety enterprise standards, as its organization production basis; Another kind is products already have national standards or local standards, the state shall encourage enterprises to formulate strict in “gb” or “landmark” food safety enterprise standards to severely product quality.”In fact, safety standards just produce basic line, some overseas enterprise will produce according to standards. The European Union is almost international recognized for food safety requirements of the most stringent region, China’s production of dairy products hard to enter the European Union and the United States, and standard strict market.” Lee then your said.

An inescapable fact is, frequent food safety accidents in China, often exposed behind food safety management system standard quality is not high, lag problem. The regulations for the implementation of standardization method specified: standard after carrying out, the formulation of standards department shall, according to the development of science and technology and economic construction need timely re-examination. Standard review cycles are usually not more than five years. But in China the standardization method in 1989, the situation has started to implement changes the revision work, standardization method in the recent ten years, now the new law is still not come.

It is undeniable that the present stage of development level adapt, standard also has a gradual improvement and improve the process. But, “some standard long-term ‘piaffe’, even twenty or thirty years changeless, not only give some fraud enterprise drill LouZi provides may, also affect the vital interests of the people and even national image.” Well-known lawyer QiuBaoChang said. National authorities also pointed, although our country has set a lot of food, food additives products standards or testing standards, but for some more sensitive, attention high standards work also cannot improve adapt to the need of supervisory work. Such as: our country allowed “agriculture residual” than the European Union and the United States amount to several times higher; Margarines, by exposure in China is harmful, but no mandatory limited standards… QiuBaoChang explained, our country were tens of thousands of a standard, when developing criteria is generally low. On the other hand, make a standard, need a lot of data collection and argumentation, cost is higher, and this subsidy is limited, many state spending is often corporate sponsors, one is the “update” slow, 2 it is blended with enterprise’s “will”, some enterprise became low standard beneficiaries. Correspondingly, developed countries are often the food standard “dynamic” update, the government supervision department, third-party research institutions and enterprises has good linkage mechanism between.How should the formulation of standards? According to introducing, in Japan, has a complete testing system according to their food and food imports of food safety, it also makes many Chinese manufacturers buyers. In the United States, production babies and infants dairy access enterprise less than 10 home, and Chinese baby formula milk powder enterprise up to 145 home.

“As far as I know, Japan only 100 kinds of food safety standards, and our country have thousands of different departments, and formulated the standard is’ fight ‘.” Lee said, some departments to your region, out of self-interest standards, mutual fight not rare, make law enforcement departments and enterprise disoriented.

2009 September to November, the National People’s Congress standing committee of the food safety act law-enforcement inspection group checked implementation of food safety standards, find domestic quantity, less time early, index coarse, some index lack of risk assessment basis, standard exists between the cross, repeat even contradictory.

Due to agriculture, health and quality inspection regulators from respective needs for food safety standards work on the same food, which usually leads to a different safety standards, the same test items have different requirements of limited value for the country, because the phenomenon are compulsive standard, food enterprise often disoriented. For example, dumplings with dumplings formulated by the ministry of health standards of hygiene standards, flour by national bureau, both are formulated national standards, but because the dumplings standard is higher, often happen “qualified flour bag not qualified jiaozi”.

China food standard system for defects, since in 2010, relevant departments have started a cleanup work. However, the standard system integration, and clean thoroughly revised based standards such as short-term work is difficult to complete.

“Since is food safety standards, can’t ‘different’ internal and external to the international standard, should emulate, possibly to strictly.” QiuBaoChang said, raise the standard, is the life and health of the people responsible for participation in the world, China is the need of economic division.

SangLiWei said, in addition to standard, food safety monitoring the biggest vulnerability is protectionism. Some food production enterprise is the local large taxpayer, when these enterprise a problem, even if regulators have the heart to tube, but likely will directly find problems enterprise higher level of leadership, cause regulators cannot really regulation in place. What is more, out of local protectionism, regulators will enterprise protected directly, does not undertake supervisory duties.

“China’s export food safety than domestic food safety coefficient is much higher. This is because export food management a bamboo pole tube exactly, from sales have been tube to the farm source, regulation strictly; on the other hand, the export enterprise also to produce strictly according to western standards.” Lee said, “so you again, sheet relies on a standard affirmation won’t solve the food safety problems, check 30 item, 50 of when is an end? Food problems most important are moral bottom line, abolish the department interests.”

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{Tags: embarrassment, Food, safety, Standards} {}