Food & Beverage Innovation Forum 2014 @ Simba

1. Junshi Chen
China National Centre for Food
Safety Risk Assessment
The major food safety issues
in China

2. Outlines
 Situation and problems
 New regulatory progress
 Challenges

3. FOOD SCARE in
- Chinese consumers
“I do not want
foods with any
pesticides and
GMO foods”
“ Artificial colors?
Preservatives?
Bleaching agents?
Sudan red?”

4. FOOD SCARE in – Western consumers
“How can you
survive in China？
No food in
China is safe !”

5. Source: Ted Alcorn , Yadan Ouyang.
China's invisible burden of foodborne
illness. The Lancet, 2012, Vol
379(9818): p 789 -790.
Beyond public health
“Food safety in China is far
beyond a mere public health
issue”. “Food safety is a social
issue and affects social stability.”
says Junshi Chen

6. Food safety situation in China
– general assessment
 The overall situation in China is good and
continuously improving along with the rapid
development of national economy;
 But, many food safety issues occur from time to
time, and some of them are quite outstanding, e.g.
melamine, clenbutanol.
 Food adulteration or food fraud has are common,
although only a few cases affect consumer health.

7. The fundamental causes of food
safety problems in China:
 Too many small farms and producers: 100
million farmers and 0.5 million producers;
 Lack of standardized production;
 Food producers and vendors: poor credibility;
 Fragmentation in national food control system.

8. Outlines
 Situation and problems
 New regulatory progress
 Challenges

9. National Food Safety Control System in China
Note: MOA – Ministry of Agriculture; CFDA – Food and Drug General
Administration; Office – Standing Office of the Food Safety Committee, State
Council; NHFPC – Health and Family Planning Commission
State Food Safety
Council
Coordination
MOA
Primary Ag Product
Control, incl.
Pesticide &
Veterinary Drug
Residues
CFDA
Manufacture,
Distribution and
Restaurant
Control
MOH*
Risk Assessment,
Surveillance,
Standard,
Premarket Approval
AQSIQ
Export & Import,
Food Control &
Packaging
Materials Control
Secretariat of the
Council
CFDA

10. Mandates of related government
agencies
 MoA – primary agriculture products, crops
and livestocks
 CFDA + Food Safety Office – policy, strategy,
inspection (other than primary agriculture
products), rapid alert, information release,
etc.
 NHFPC – risk surveillance, risk assessment,
standard development/revision and
promulgation.
 AQSIQ – food import and export control.

11. Features of the new system
 National Food and Drug administration
(CFDA ) becomes the leading agency;
 The combination of CFDA and the Office of
the Food Safety Committee, State Council;
 Remains opportunity for further reform.

12. Achievements (1)
 Covered all 31 provinces, 2,142 sites, 20 food
categories (500+food products), 295,000 food
samples, 147 parameters, >3 million data points.
 Emergent surveillance program – e.g. phthalates.
 Pilot active surveillance on prevalence of food
borne diseases – 6 provinces, 10 million
population, 1 case in every 6 adult subjects
(> 200 million cases).
National surveillance system (2013)

13. Achievements (2)
 December, 2009 - 1st National Expert Committee for
Food Safety Risk Assessment established, with 42
members;
 October, 2011 – National Centre for Food Safety Risk
Assessment inaugurated.
National risk assessment system

14.  Dietary intake of iodine and iodine status of Chinese
people (2010), completed
 Dietary exposure of cadmium (2010), completed
 Dietary exposure of aluminum (2010), completed
 Dietary exposure of lead (2011), completed
 Dietary exposure of trans fat (2011), completed
 Quantitative health risk assessment of Salmonella in
chicken (2011), completed
 Quantitative health risk assessment of Campylobacter
jejuni in chicken (2011)
 Dietary exposure of phthalates in foods (2012), more ……
Selected planned and on-going
prioritized projects

15.  New National Food Safety Standard Review Committee
established in January, 2010, with 10 sub-committees.
 Up to March 2014, 411 new standards were promulgated,
including:
 68 dairy standards-12 dairy products, 5 special dietary
foods including infant formula, 2 practice about dairy
products and infant formula, 39 physical and chemical
testing methods, 10 microbiological methods
 12(12 9) horizontal standards – food additives,
nutrient fortificants, contaminants, mycotoxins,
pesticide residues (4 1), pathogenic bacteria, labeling
of prepackaged foods, nutrition labeling, labelling of
special dietary prepackaged food.
New food safety standard system
Achievements (3)

16.  6 food products – honey, distilled liquor, fermented wine,
frozen flour and rice products, iodine content in edible
salt, special medical use formula.
 5 food related product standards-stainless steel product,
disinfectant, organic silicon anti-sticking coatings, water-
based modified epoxy resin coating inside cans, lining of
epoxy polyamide resin coating.
 General Hygiene Practice for Food Manufacturing, Code of
Practice for Food for Special Medical Use.
 44 testing methods-35 physical and chemical testing
methods, 9 microbiological methods.
 274 specifications for food additive products and nutrient
fortificants.
New food safety standard system
Achievements (3)

17.  Horizontal standards to be promulgated ,
 Food additive labeling,
 General hygienic practice for food marketing,
 Residue of veterinary drug.
 Review and consolidation of > 3000 additives for food
packaging materials completed.
 Reviewed and clean-up about 5000 standards in 2013 and
will be complete integration in 2015, in order to solve the
inconsistency and overlap problem.
New food safety standard system
Achievements (3)

18.  Control of adding illegal chemicals in food
manufacturing process，
 Control of abuse use of food additives,
 Control the use of clenbutanol in pig feeds,
 Smash gutter oil production chain,
 Control of imported foods.
Achievements (4)
Strengthen control and inspection

19. Outlines
 Situation and problems
 New regulatory progress
 Challenges

20. However, consumers feel food safety
situation is getting worse, Why?
 High expectation for “zero risk” or absolute safety;
 Perception: adulterated = UNSAFE;
 Strong advocacy on consumer right protection;
 More problems uncovered by stronger control and
inspection of government than before;
 Media: misleading, exaggerating, instead of fact-
based report.
Must take into account together !

21. Science vs. Consumer Perceptions
SCIENTIST
EXPERT
knows
thinks
CONSUMER
PUBLIC
feels
believes
Fact-based:
hazard, probability
Value-based:
consequences, value
Source: Patrick Wall, International Food Safety Forum, Beijing, 2011
Risk Communication

22. RC is the weakest part in the risk
analysis framework in China
 Consumer anxieties are fueled by false alarm
with no scientific evidences;
 Substantial gap between facts and consumer
perception;
 Lack of specialized RC institute, experienced
researchers/practitioners and adequate funding;
 Lack of independent NGO platform to conduct
RC in timely manner.

23. Main challenges for RC in China
 Scientific messages cannot get people’s
attention;
 Misleading information/media reports are
overwhelming and spreading rapidly;
 Consumer distrust in government’s
competence to manage food safety;
Negative impact on solving food safety
problems.

24. Summary
 Food safety problem is a global issue, not just for
China;
 Chinese government has made significant
progress in the control of food safety. However,
the consumers still believe that the food safety
situation in China is getting worse.
 Risk Communication is the weakest component in
the risk analysis framework in China.
 All stakeholders need to actively participate in
risk communication.