On June 24, the draft amendment to the Food Safety Law was submitted to the meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation for the first time.
The current Food Safety Law of China came into effect in 2009, was comprehensively revised in 2015, and then was amended in 2018 and 2021.
This amendment adopts a "small incision" approach, focusing on prominent issues, filling regulatory gaps, and safeguarding the safety bottom line.
Better safeguard the safety of bulk transportation of key liquid foods on the road
The draft amendment proposes to implement a licensing system for the bulk transportation of key liquid foods on the road, stipulating that road transport operators engaged in the bulk transportation of key liquid foods should meet the corresponding conditions and obtain the transportation permit in accordance with the prescribed procedures.
A number of newly proposed specific regulations signal stronger supervision: clarifying the obligations of the consignor, consignee and the road transport operator; stipulating that no unit or individual may forge, alter or tamper with documents such as transportation records and cleaning certificates of transportation containers; clarifying that the food safety supervision department of the State Council, in conjunction with relevant departments of the State Council, should formulate the catalogue of key liquid foods and the specific administrative regulations for bulk transportation of key liquid foods on the road...
The draft amendment also proposes to set strict legal liabilities for the illegal act of engaging in the bulk transportation of key liquid foods on the road without permission, and increase the intensity of punishment for illegal acts of food storage, transportation and loading/unloading that do not meet requirements.
Implement registration management to ensure the quality and safety of liquid infant and young children formula
A major highlight of this law amendment is to include "liquid infant and young children formula" in the registration management as "infant and young children formula milk powder", and stipulate that manufacturers should organize production in accordance with the technical requirements such as the registered product formula and production process, and illegal production should bear corresponding legal responsibilities.
At present, China has formulated and issued the product standard and good manufacturing practice standard for liquid infant and young children formula, but the relevant supporting regulations have not been improved yet.
This law amendment adopting the "small incision" model further demonstrates China's firm stance of "zero tolerance" in the field of food safety, and sends out a positive signal of using the power of the rule of law to escort the high-quality development of the food industry.
Source: SHI AN ZHONG GUO
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