This publication seeks to set out the UN System’s analysis of the food safety situation in China, as part of the UN System’s contribution to China’s ongoing efforts in the area of food safety. Recently China has made great progress in recognizing and responding to its food safety challenges.

Various UN Agencies have supported government efforts in reforming aspects of the Chinese food safety assurance system. The United Nations stands ready to further assist China, and it is hoped that the analysis and recommendations contained herein might provide a basis from which such further cooperation and support could be provided.

This section sets out the overall policy and institutional context of food safety in China, and to summarize the UN System’s main recommendations. The following policy notes present analysis and policy recommendations in their respective areas.

FOREWORD
Over the past year, intense media aention has focused on food safety in the People’s Republic of China. Though the headlines have sometimes been simplistic, the issues underlying them are anything but. As in other countries, they involve a broad range of stakeholders both at home and abroad, and require a truly multi-sectoral and multilateral response.

Since the headlines broke, the Government of China has been quick to respond, both highlighting the work it was already doing and taking many further concrete actions. It has also recognized that there is more work to do, and has indicated that it would welcome capacity building support and advice both from the international community in general and from the UN System in particular.

The purpose of this paper is to set out the UN System’s analysis of the food safety situation in China. It draws on the collective experience and expertise of all the relevant UN Agencies, given their collective role as custodian of global norms and standards in this area. It includes seven separate chapters with policy notes on food safety legislation, management, inspection and enforcement, trade dimensions, monitoring and surveillance, communication and international cooperation, each of which presents a series of policy recommendations.

It is our hope that the analysis and ideas presented in this paper will make a strong contribution to China’s ongoing efforts in the area of food safety. The United Nations System stands ready to further assist China in its endeavours.

I would like to thank UN colleagues and Agencies in China and their respective Headquarters for their active and collective work on this document.

Khalid Malik
UN Resident Coordinator

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Contents
1. Foreword 3
2. Framework 4
3. Policy note 1: Food safety legislation 9
4. Policy note 2: Food safety management 12
5. Policy note 3: Inspection and enforcement 15
6. Policy note 4: Trade dimensions 18
7. Policy note 5: Monitoring and surveillance 20
8. Policy note 6: Communication 22
9. Policy note 7: International cooperation 25

Summary of Recommendations

The United Nations System in China recognizes and applauds the many actions taken by the Government of China in the area of food safety, as detailed above, and the consequent improvements in food safety that have been witnessed. It recognizes that the sheer scale of China’s food industry makes the task of aligning all Chinese food products with international standards an ongoing and arduous one.

Without considering food service establishments, there are currently around 450,000 different enterprises engaged in food production and processing in China. Of these, around 350,000 are small enterprises with less than ten employees which have a collective market share of less than ten per cent but present many of the greatest food safety challenges. In addition, there are many informal and unregistered producers whom it is even harder to oversee and regulate.

Nonetheless, the United Nations shares the Government’s view that great priority should be aached to further improving food safety, not least because of the significance of the maer both in terms of public health and potential economic and social impacts both in China and in its main export markets.

In this paper, China’s food safety efforts to date have been compared with international best practices and guidance, in order to identify areas in which China could further develop its response to food safety.

International guidance on strengthening national food control systems has identified the objectives of a food control system as the following:

• Protecting public health by reducing the risk of foodborne illness;
• Protecting consumers from unsanitary, unwholesome, mislabelled or adulterated food; and
• Contributing to economic development by maintaining consumer confidence in the food system and providing a sound regulatory foundation for domestic and international trade in food.

Meanwhile, the principles and values that underpin food safety activities put forward by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which national authorities must take into consideration, include the following:

• Recognizing that food control is a mutually shared responsibility among government, the food industry and consumers.
• Maximizing risk reduction by applying the principle of prevention as fully as possible throughout the farm-to-table continuum;
• Developing risk-based food safety strategies using sound scientific risk assessment and best practices in risk management;
• Establishing holistic, integrated initiatives which target risks and impact on economic well-being;
• Establishing emergency procedures for dealing with particular hazards (e.g., recall of products);

Drawing on international best practice, this paper suggests that China might consider the establishment or further refinement of the following, applying the principles and values outlined above:

• A legal framework developed in a coordinated manner that is consistent nationwide;
• A coordinated and unambiguous food control management system;
• A food safety standards system that is risk-based and in harmony with international standards, i.e. Codex Alimentarius;
• A unified, authoritative and efficient food safety testing and inspecting system;
• A uniform and standardized food certification and qualification system;
• An effective food safety emergency response system;
• An improved food traceability system;
• An enhanced information service system that has links with the media to ensure the media and consumers can have confidence in the safety of the food in China;
• An effective programme of education and training in food safety;
• An efficient foodborne disease surveillance system covering the entire country;
• A well-designed national food contaminants monitoring system
• A strengthened programme of international communication and cooperation; and
• Greater emphasis on public-private partnership.

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