Top official gets tough on food safety during inspection tour

Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, made the announcement on a tour to investigate how the law has been implemented across the country.

During a two-day trip, Zhang inspected livestock raising facilities and farming and herding co-ops to assess quality control. While in Inner Mongolia, he urged leading agricultural companies and co-ops to strengthen their supervision and management of foods, with special focus on feedstuffs, additives and pesticides.

Zhang also called on manufacturers and sellers to place close attention to regulatory protocols covering raw materials and finished products, while also maintaining clear sales records as part of a food safety liability backtracking system.

Meanwhile, in Beijing, the State Council issued a document saying that domestic and imported baby formula will feature as a priority for government action as authorities continue to place food safety under the spotlight.

Regulators will also tighten their inspections of the baby milk powder recipes registered by manufacturers in a bid to expose malpractice.

Last month, police arrested nine people allegedly involved in the production and sale of fake formula which was packaged under the Similac and Beingmate brand names. 

Around 1,000 cans of milk powder, over 20,000 empty cans and 65,000 fake trademarks were seized.

The State Council missive also highlighted farm produce as another a priority, with a focus to be placed on the use of pesticides and antibiotics.

Also...​

Usana’s China operation given permits for direct selling expansion​

Global nutrition company Usana Health Sciences has received approval for its China subsidiary to expand its direct selling operation to eight more provinces and municipalities within the country.​

The Ministry of Commerce will now permit BabyCare to sell in Liaoning, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan and Guangdong provinces, as well as the cities of Dalian, Qingdao and Shenzhen. 

These additional licenses add to BabyCare’s existing direct selling licenses in Beijing, Jiangsu, Shanxi and Tianjin. 

“We are pleased to have received these additional licenses in China, where we continue to expand the reach of our world-class products​,” said, Dave Wentz, co-chief executive of Usana, which develops and manufactures nutritional supplements, healthy foods and personal care products for direct sale across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. 

“We remain committed to working with the Chinese government as we continue growing our business in this promising market​.”