Chinesepod - China, EU to share more food safety info

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BIZCHINA / Center

China, EU to share more food safety info

By Zhu Zhe (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-07-24 09:04

Chinese and European Union (EU) quality control officials yesterday
agreed to share more information on seizures of substandard consumer
products and strengthen law enforcement to better combat unsafe goods.

The two sides will have to thrash out the details of the action plan.

For now, safety watchdogs from the two sides will exchange more
information on unsafe products in the EU rapid alert system for non-food
products, known as RAPEX, to help them better select targets for
enforcement.

China has promised to take more rigorous action against companies found
guilty of making substandard products, according to the country's General
Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ).

The agreement is the latest between China and the EU, AQSIQ Minister Li
Changjiang said after he met with the visiting EU Consumer Protection
Commissioner Meglena Kuneva in Beijing yesterday. But officials gave no
further details.

The two sides signed a cooperation agreement in January giving China
access to RAPEX. The Chinese side agreed to help track down the Chinese
culprits who supplied substandard products to the EU.

China has also vowed to crack down on substandard product makers in
general.

Under RAPEX, about 48 percent of the 924 products identified as unsafe
for the EU market last year were from China, down 2 percentage points
than the previous year.

Commissioner Kuneva said she had seen China improve its handling of
products, but the EU wanted Beijing to help avoid consumer safety
firestorms by tracing more complaints down the trade chain to the factory
floor.

"Yes, there is an improvement but also it's equally valid that there is
need of the reforms to be stepped up on the market and on market
surveillance," she said.

Minister Li acknowledged that the safety of Chinese products had been in
the global spotlight recently. But he said product safety was not only
China's concern, but also the common responsibility of all countries.

AQSIQ figures show that in the first half of this year, 98.8 percent of
the food products from the EU were up to standard, 1 percentage point
less than the equivalent figure for Chinese food exports to the EU.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)

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