China, US move forward on new food safety agreement
Food Chemical News | March 31, 2008
China, U.S. move forward on new food safety agreement
By Joan Murphy
The U.S. and China have agreed to implement a new bilateral food
safety system by initially focusing on four product categories, said
FDA officials who recently returned from an overseas trip.
Last year, U.S. and China agreed to a binding accord in Beijing that
would set up new registration and certification requirements for
shipping certain food and feed to the U.S. (see FCN Dec. 17, Page 1).
At that time, U.S. officials said the new inspection/certification
system would cover low acid canned foods; pet food/pet treats; raw
materials used in making manufactured foods, such as wheat gluten and
rice protein; and farm-raised fish.
But FDA Associate Commissioner for Foods David Acheson, who was one of
several agency officials who traveled to China for two and a half days
of meetings earlier this month, said the two governments have agreed
to start with fish (aquaculture products covered under FDA’s June 2007
import alert as well as tilapia) and the food ingredients wheat
gluten, corn gluten and rice protein.
"These will be our initial focus," Acheson told Food Chemical News on
March 27.
The two countries also agreed that Chinese food imports would have to
meet U.S. food safety standards. "They were O.K. with U.S. standards,"
he said.
The governments are developing internal documents that include
timelines for implementing the accord. More technical negotiations are
now underway to answer thorny questions such as how far FDA can go
when it comes to inspecting Chinese fish farms — will inspectors be
allowed to trace fish feed, for instance?
In addition, China has agreed on a rapid notification system that
would require parties to notify each other in the event of a
significant problem, such as a Class I recall, said Acheson. FDA’s
information technology staff accompanied the delegation, led by FDA’s
Murray Lumpkin, deputy commissioner for international and special
programs, to help China set up an electronic notification system. "We
will not accept paper," said Acheson.
FDA officials also toured China’s laboratories, which play a role in
assuring foods imported to the U.S. are safe. Mutually agreed-upon
laboratory methods and standards are being discussed, Acheson reported.
Registrations and inspections
Under the agreement, exporters to the United States must register with
China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and
Quarantine (AQSIQ) and agree to annual inspections by Chinese
inspectors to ensure their goods meet U.S. standards. The agreement
said AQSIQ will notify U.S. officials of those companies that fail
inspection or whose exporting privileges China suspends. FDA will
maintain an online list of registered companies.
Once AQSIQ inspectors confirm a shipment meets FDA requirements, they
will issue a certificate that carries a unique identifying number,
which AQSIQ must also file with U.S. authorities.
Acheson said FDA needs reassurance that the registration process and
exporting certificates "mean something," and FDA’s Office of
Regulatory Affairs will be heavily involved in auditing their system.
Since FDA can’t review all exporting firms, the agency must decide on
the right percentage of registered firms to audit and how to respond
if a company fails an audit.
China yet to clear FDA offices
In the meantime, the U.S. State Department has granted FDA permission
to set up offices in China, and the agency announced it would be
placing eight inspectors there, with the goal of hiring additional
Chinese nationals for a total of 13 employees. The new FDA staff would
be housed at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and the U.S. Consulates
General in Shanghai and Guangzhou.
"Clearly, that’s not a large number to inspect Chinese firms," said
Acheson at a March 26 Food and Drug Law Institute meeting. However, he
pointed out that their primary mission will be to build a relationship
with Chinese regulators "on the ground" so that if a problem occurs,
the U.S. can react more quickly.
Acheson also told FCN that China has not yet granted FDA the authority
to house their inspectors in the country, but the request is presently
before China’s foreign office and the "response was positive" from
AQSIQ officials when the topic was discussed in China in March.
"They are committed to trying to fix this," Acheson said.
