Food safety regulation clarifies responsibilities

A revised regulation on the implementation of China's Food Safety Law will take effect on Dec 1, the State Council said in a statement released on Oct 31.
The revised regulation, comprising 10 chapters and 86 articles, deals with areas such as food safety standards, food production, food inspection and the handling of accidents related to food safety.

Tougher supervision is highlighted in its general rules, which require governments above county level to establish a uniform and authoritative supervision mechanism to enhance regulatory capacity building.

National and local standards for food safety will be formulated and enterprises will be required to implement them once they are released. However, no local food safety standards will be allowed to be formulated on health food and supplements, food for special medical purposes and infant formula as they are not local specialty foods, the revised regulation says.

In the chapter of supervision and administration, there are regulations on random inspections and other ways of supervising food producers. A joint punishment system for discredited enterprises will be established, along with a blacklist system for serious violators of food safety rules.

The regulation also clarifies the primary food safety responsibilities of producers and business operators, specifies the duties of top corporate leaders, regulates the storage and transportation of food products, bans the false promotion of food products, and improves the management of special food.

Under the rules, legal persons, persons in charge, managers directly in charge and individuals directly responsible will be fined if the entity they work for intentionally commits an illegal act.

Guideline promotes red lines for development

The General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued a guideline on Nov 1 to promote the coordination and implementation of limits on development plans.

The document stressed the importance of ecological protection, farmland protection and the economical use of land.

The limits－red lines for the adjustment of economic structures, planning of industrial development and advancement of urbanization－will consolidate the foundation for China's sustainable development, the guideline said.

Efforts will be made to set red lines for ecological protection based on ecological functions. Priority will be given to regions with important functions such as biodiversity, soil and water conservation and regions with extremely vulnerable ecologies.

To ensure national food safety and the supply of important farm produce, permanent basic farmland will be defined and given permanent special protection, the guideline said.

The guideline also required setting boundaries for urban development based on green development requirements.

By the end of next year, the limits will be incorporated into the national unified information platform for land and space to enable information sharing and stricter control.

By 2035, China will have a scientific, moderate and orderly territorial spatial distribution system, according to the guideline.