China’s State Council issued a statement on Monday promising to crack down on the use of recycled cooking oil at restaurants. The oil, called “gutter oil” in the domestic media, is China’s latest food safety scandal. The trade is usually conducted by peddlers who buy food waste and oil, then use it as slop for [...]
China will implement tighter controls on animal feed to secure animal health and “restore public confidence in food safety.” According to draft regulations issued by the State Council Legislative Affairs Office, farmers could face fines of renminbi 50,000 ($7,320) for “improper” use of feed and feed additives or adding illegal substances such as melamine or [...]
China announced Tuesday that it has instituted a nationwide program of safety checks for melamine-tainted dairy products. The government dispatched food inspectors to 16 provinces to check for melamine, a chemical used by some dairy producers as an additive due to its ability to mimic protein in quality control tests. Melamine contamination resulted in the [...]
China has introduced its first food safety law in order to develop unified national standards for food safety. The law, adopted by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, will establish a cabinet-level commission tasked with reducing regulatory overlap and increasing the legal liability of food producers. Criminal and civil penalties for food safety violations will [...]
Brazil is seeking investment from China in its ports and roads as part of efforts to improve the supply chain for agricultural products. About one-fifth of the South American nation’s agricultural exports headed to China last year. The imports, dominated by soybeans, frozen meat and tobacco, were worth US$11 billion. Celio B. Porto, secretary of [...]
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will open three offices in China this week to ensure the safety of exports headed to the US. These will be the first FDA offices outside the US. The first will open in Beijing on Wednesday, followed by one in Guangzhou and another in Shanghai. Mike Leavitt, US [...]
Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety said it had found high levels of melamine in fish feed from mainland China, though the chemical has not yet been found in fish. The fish feed contained 6.6 parts per million of melamine, exceeding government limits for food products of 2.5 parts per million. The fish feed came [...]
Officials from Taiwan and mainland China signed four agreements in Taipei yesterday in the latest show of firming cross-Strait economic ties. Among the agreements, direct cross-Strait cargo flights will be introduced, with up to 60 round trips per month, while direct passenger flights will be tripled to 108 per week. China will also expand the [...]
Nestle has opened a US$10.2 million research and development facility in Beijing, and emphasized that consumer safety is the company’s top priority. Swiss-based Nestle, the world’s biggest food group, said the new center would be used for basic research as well as product development. Nestle products made in China were pulled from the shelves in [...]
Hong Kong testers discovered high levels of melamine in one brand of Chinese eggs, prompting Hong Kong authorities to expand their testing to include meat products imported from China. Hong Kong testers had discovered 4.7 parts per million of melamine in eggs produced by a division of Dalian Hanwei Enterprise Group. The legal limit for [...]
