Great catch, Don.

6/13: ” The issue burst into the international spotlight after tainted additives exported from China contaminated pet food in North America.”

7/4: ” Reports of substandard food often appear in the media and the issue burst into the international spotlight when allegedly tainted additives, exported from China, contaminated pet food in North America.”

Which is it, “tainted?” or “allegedly tainted?”

This is the kind of obfuscation we are dealing with when it comes to Chinese imports.

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BEIJING, June 13 — About 152,000 unlicensed food businesses were shut down last year under a regime of tightened inspections which helped improve food safety, a senior official said yesterday.

Official figures show that the industry and commerce administrations at various levels last year made 10.4 million inspections and uncovered problems in 360,000 food businesses - comprising food processors, distributors, sellers and eateries.

In addition to those which were banned from operation, 4,629 businesses licenses were withdrawn, and the rest ordered to correct their practises, said Li Dongsheng, vice-minister of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC).

He did not detail the problems which surfaced during inspections.

Official figures also show that industry and commerce authorities ordered the withdrawal of about 16,000 tons of unsafe food products from the market last year. There were 63,065 consumer complaints against food, down 2.8 percent over the previous year.

“Fewer complaints show that the food market is in a better shape,” Li told a press conference organized by the State Council Information Office.

Scandals involving substandard food were frequently reported by the media last year, such as the red-yolk salted duck eggs contaminated with an industrial dye and turbot fish containing carcinogenic residue.

The issue burst into the international spotlight after tainted additives exported from China contaminated pet food in North America.

Li admitted that China does have problems with food safety, but said they are not serious. “We should not exaggerate the problems and cause public panic,” he said.

He noted that the SAIC, responsible for the supervision of food safety in the domestic market, is vigilant and strives to protect consumers’ rights. He said the administration would continue to improve the recall and withdrawal system and set up a long-term supervision mechanism.

However, Ye Zhihua, a senior researcher on quality standards and testing technology with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), worries that the large number of small food plants and inadequate number of enforcement officers may prevent the campaign from further success.

Preliminary statistics from the CAAS show that up to 80 percent of 450,000 food-processing plants are small businesses with fewer than 10 employees. Of the more than 10 million food businesses, about 97 percent are small enterprises.

Ye said small food enterprises are usually dogged by poor management, technology and sanitary conditions, and are spread across the country, making supervision difficult.

(Source: China Daily)

Editor: Lu Hui

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China’s food quality up to standard
http://www.chinaview.cn 2007-07-04 09:00:19

Chinese food products are getting safer, the top quality watchdog said yesterday.

It said tests on 3,384 different kinds of foodstuff showed about 86 percent were up to standard.

The products, from 2,777 processing companies, involved 35 categories, including milk, beer, jelly, fruit juice, milk powder, canned goods, and dried food and nuts.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, to reassure consumers following a number of safety scandals, said records of the past 22 years showed the safety of food products had been steadily increasing since 1998.

“The proportion of food products tested and qualified in the first half was the highest in recent years,” Ji Zhengkun, director of the administration’s quality inspection department, said. He did not give figures for previous years.

Beer, fruit juice and dried food and nuts saw the biggest improvement in quality, he said. Tests from January to last month showed that 89.3 percent of beer products met required standards, 5.2 percent higher than last year, and 80 percent of fruit juices, up 4.1 percent.

Figures showed 92 percent of dried food and nuts were also up to required standards. Inspectors did not find any excessive use of food additives, a problem once common in dried food.

For those that did not qualify, Ji said irregular labeling was mainly to blame. At least 97.5 percent of juices tested were up to standard, if labeling was not taken into consideration.

Two weeks ago, the Ministry of Agriculture said farm products were safer than before, citing tests on fruit, vegetables, meat and fish in major cities.

Ji attributed the quality improvement to stricter supervision and the implementation of a market access mechanism.

But he admitted there were still problems. Excessive use of food additives and pathogenic bacteria such as the coli groups were found in some samples.

Reports of substandard food often appear in the media and the issue burst into the international spotlight when allegedly tainted additives, exported from China, contaminated pet food in North America.

However, Ji said one company’s problem did not make it a national problem. “If some food is below standard, you can’t say all the country’s food is unsafe,” he said. “We must have confidence in our foodstuff.”

Foreign spokesman Qin Gang yesterday accused the media of playing up food safety issues.

“China has been very responsible in this regard to ensure the good quality and safety of its exports,” he said, warning that the widespread media coverage would “lead to panic among consumers”.

Qin said more than 99 percent of food exports to the US in the last three years had met quality standards, or even higher than the equivalent figure for US food exports to China.

(Source: China Daily)

Editor: Wang Yu

This little flame-war does underscore the point, however, that food safety is a topic we can all agree on — even if there isn’t any other topic about which we can say that!

Thank you for contacting me regarding the recent pet food recalls. I appreciate hearing your views on this matter.
I share your concerns about the safety of our nation’s pet food supply and am leading the fight for better oversight of pet food manufacturing.
Under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is tasked with regulating the pet food industry. The FDA’s response to the contamination of several private-label pet foods manufactured by Menu Foods, Inc., and the company’s own actions, have raised serious questions about our current pet food safety and inspection system.
During the Senate’s debate on the Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act, I offered an amendment to improve several facets of our food safety system as it applies to pets and humans.
Specifically, my amendment will:
• require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to update standards for the labeling of pet food to include ingredients and nutritional information;
• direct the Department of Health and Human Services to establish an early warning system that will monitor any outbreaks of illnesses associated with pet food;
• promote cooperation between state and federal agencies tasked with regulating food safety;
• create a registry where cases of adulterated food will be reported;
• impose civil penalties on importers or manufacturers that fail to report adulterated food to the FDA in a timely manner; and
• mandate an annual report to Congress documenting the FDA’s oversight of imported food products.
These provisions will improve the FDA’s ability to regulate the pet food industry and help to ensure that pet owners have the information they need to make informed buying decisions.
The Senate passed my amendment by a vote of 94-0 and included it in the final bill, which passed 93-1.
I also have introduced the Human and Pet Food Safety Act of 2007 (S. 1274). S. 1274 addresses many problems highlighted by the recent pet food crisis and tackles broader issues related to food safety.
This measure would authorize the FDA to assess civil penalties against companies who fail to recall food products that have been identified as posing a potential threat to public health. In the event that a company refuses to recall a contaminated food product, the bill grants the FDA the authority to issue a mandatory recall.
S. 1274 also would require that all imported food products meet certification standards and would grant FDA inspectors the authority to visit foreign countries for the purpose of conducting investigations.
Many Americans have suffered the loss of a beloved pet due to the contamination of pet food. We must work to improve oversight of the pet food industry, so that pet owners can feel confident about the safety of the food they find in veterinary offices and on supermarket and pet store shelves.
I will continue to work to improve the safety of our food supply for pets and humans. Thank you again for sharing your views. Please feel free to keep in touch.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator

“Echoing the Beijing government’s complaints about U.S. media reports, the embassy said food safety concerns were not unique to China, 99.2 percent of whose food exports to the United States in 2006 met quality standards.”

Well, that’s not hard to do when we’re only inspecting 1% of what comes in . . . . . . . . . . . . .

China warns U.S. against “smear attacks” on imports
Thu Jul 19, 2007 7:10PM EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China warned the United States on Thursday against “groundless smear attacks” against Chinese products and said it was working responsibly to address concerns over a spate of recent food safety scares.

“The Chinese Government has not turned a blind eye or tried to cover up. We have taken this matter very seriously, acted responsibly and immediately adopted forceful measures,” said a statement by China’s embassy in Washington.

“Blowing up, complicating or politicizing a problem are irresponsible actions and do not help in its solution,” the Chinese mission said in a rare policy pronouncement.

“It is even more unacceptable for some to launch groundless smear attacks on China at the excuse of food and drug safety problems,” it said.

Echoing the Beijing government’s complaints about U.S. media reports, the embassy said food safety concerns were not unique to China, 99.2 percent of whose food exports to the United States in 2006 met quality standards.

Problematic U.S. imports from China — including toxic ingredients mixed into pet food and recalls of toy trains and toothpaste — were isolated cases and “hardly avoidable” amid huge and rapidly growing bilateral trade, the statement said.

“It is unfair and irresponsible for the U.S. media to single China out, play up China’s food safety problems and mislead the U.S. consumer,” it added.

Appealing for strengthened cooperation between Chinese and U.S. food inspection authorities, the statement urged Americans to “respect science and treat China’s food and drug exports fairly.”