Posts tagged ‘foodsafety’

03/05/2013

* China arrests hundreds over fake or tainted meat

BBC: “More than 900 people have been arrested in China for selling fake or tainted meat in the last three months, state media say.

File photo: Meat at a market in China

Officials say they uncovered almost 400 such cases and seized more than 20,000 tonnes of fake meat.

In one case, the suspects made fake mutton from foxes, mink and rats after adding chemicals, state media said.

The report is the latest in a series of cases highlighting food safety issues in China.

In the latest case, examples of wrongdoing included suspects using a hydrogen peroxide solution to process chicken claws or injecting water into meat to increase its weight.

State news agency Xinhua reported the arrests as a part of a national crackdown that will now focus on dairy products.

It also quoted an official as saying that China had “deep-seated food safety problems” that needed to be resolved.

Food safety remains an issue of huge concern for the Chinese public, reports the BBC’s Martin Patience in Beijing.

Last year there were reports that some suppliers to pharmaceutical firms used so-called gutter oil – reprocessed kitchen waste dredged from restaurant drains – to make antibiotics.

Previous cases also involved the use of gutter oil as cooking oil or in food production.

Public concerns also remains over milk products, after a high-profile scandal involving the use of melamine in baby milk formula.”

via BBC News – China arrests hundreds over fake or tainted meat.

04/07/2012

* China vows to improve food safety in 3 years

China Daily: “The State Council on Tuesday announced a decision to markedly improve food safety, aiming to effectively solve prominent problems in three years.

According to a State Council statement posted online, the government also aims to establish a better regulation mechanism, legal and standard system as well as technical support for food safety and improve the overall food safety management level of the food industry in around five years.

Food safety will become a measure of local governments’ performance in their annual assessment for the first time, the statement said.

A database of food safety records of food companies will be established and those on the black list will be disclosed and punished, it said.

Authorities must prevent expired food products from returning to the market, while consumers will be rewarded in cash for reporting illegal acts.

The Chinese public has become increasingly concerned over food safety after a slew of scares — from melamine-tainted baby formula products to pork contaminated with clenbuterol — exposed the vulnerability of the country’s food sector.

Authorities detected 15,000 cases of substandard food and shut down 5,700 unlicensed businesses during their inspections on food businesses across the country since the beginning of 2012, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce said last month.

Dairy products, edible oils, seasonal foods and alcoholic beverages were among the major food categories targeted during the inspections.”

via China vows to improve food safety in 3 years |Society |chinadaily.com.cn.

See also: Social tensions and human rights issues, incl food safety

This follows on from the defeat of the Chinese volleyball team due to having to subsist on vegetarian dishes due to concerns about tainted meat: http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2af62ecb329d3d7733492d9253a0a0a0/?vgnextoid=158271eb42848310VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD&ss=HK+%26+China&s=Sport

14/06/2012

* Chinese State Council improves food safety

China Daily: “The State Council laid out measures to improve food safety on Wednesday, including tighter supervision and harsher punishment for violators.

“It is an onerous task for the government to ensure food safety,” as China’s food industry is still suffering from nonstandard management and many hidden safety risks, according to a statement released after a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao.

Police officers examine decayed beans at an illegal food processing plant in Cangshan county, East China’s Shandong province, on June 1. The plant has been shut down. Initial investigation found its products, fried beans and peanuts, were mainly sold to rural market. [Zhu Wutao / For China Daily]

The government should enhance supervision by setting up an efficient mechanism that covers all links in the food industry and a rigid food recall system for destroying defective products, the statement said.

The State Council has vowed a “vigous crackdown” on those who endanger food safety.

Meanwhile, policies, laws and regulations should be revised to increase costs for violators, according to the statement.

The country will intensify a series of food safety supervisions, including strengthening enterprises’ accountability for their food products and streamlining current food quality testing standards .

The country will establish credit profiles for food enterprises, releasing quality information to the public in time, the statement said.

Also, the country will give prizes to people who expose substandard food products, it said.

China is facing increasing risks on food safety as some food enterprises have put too much emphasis on profits, negatively affecting sales, Pu Changcheng, deputy director of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, said at a news conference on Monday.”

via State Council improves food safety |Politics |chinadaily.com.cn.

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