China Food Safety Regulations: No End in Sight for China’s Food Safety Scandals.

<<This is a continuation of a discussion from previous posts. To read the introduction, click here.>>

China has had a spotty record regarding food safety. In recent years, the country has dealt with numerous food scandals including toxic baby formula, tainted pork products, and rice contaminated with heavy metals.[1] Primarily, China has used an approach very similar to the US in terms of creating food safety laws that were flexible[2]; however, China did so for different reasons than the US. When the State Council of China began implementing food safety regulations in the early 60s, Chinese citizens were recovering from a catastrophic famine.[3] Consequently, the government’s primary concern was maintaining an adequate food supply as opposed to setting forth requirements for food content.[4] Twenty years later, China enacted the Food Sanitation Law to regulate the growing number of food manufacturers and vendors. [5] These laws set forth the standards for food content, additives, manufacturing conditions, while also prescribing penalties for violations of the Law.[6] The food safety supervision has taken the model of segmental management, separating the whole process of food going from farmland to the table into different stages, each under the control of different governmental departments.[7] The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), which is the existing food supervising machine, only plays the role of comprehensive supervision and coordination without actually controlling the powers that determine food safety criteria or adequately supervising and managing.[8] Although the FDA has more power in the US than the SFDA does in China, they are similar in the fact that the FDA also typically makes recommendations as opposed to mandating legislation.

China has suffered many problems in terms of their food safety regulations. In an attempt to deal with particular emerging problems, individual departments hastily issue new regulations. For example, in 2004 the Chinese government revamped the Food Sanitation Law after a series of overly publicized food poisoning episodes.[9] Despite these new food safety legislation and tougher punishment for violators, food scandals continue to occur on a regular basis. Unlike the United States, China has a centralized system, which consists of the central government in Beijing and local governments across the country.[10] The food safety enforcement and regulation has been a coordinated effort by many governmental agencies including agricultural, industrial, commercial, quality control, and food authorities.[11] In addition, China’s massive food production system is more reliant on small producers than the U.S. or EU. The complex nature of the food safety management system, the reliance on smaller producers, both combined with the overall size of China explain why China has such a difficult time enforcing their policies. Not to mention the fact that implementation of regulatory objectives is difficult given China’s underdeveloped institutional capabilities and weak civil society.[12] Typically, new regulations and dictates from the Chinese government are mandates that the local officials ignored arguing they lack resources to carry out directives.[13] These legislations also fail by depending on local government without any mechanism to combat the local protectionism that has been a potent aspect of Chinese society since the 80s.[14] Corruption within the Chinese Government poses another challenge.

<<To read how Food leglislation changed with the introduction of Genetically Modified Food into international trade, click here.>>

[1]Chenglin Liu, Profits Above the Law: China's Melamine Tainted Milk Incident, 79 Miss. L.J. 371, 373 (2009). In 2004, when 13 infants in coastal Fujian province died of malnutrition after being fed substandard formula.

[2] Shipin Weisheng Guanli Shixing Tiaoli [Food Sanitation Regulation (For Trial Implementation)] (promulgated by the State Council on Aug. 17, 1965), available at http://news.xinhuanet.com/ziliao/2005-02/02/content_ 2538913.htm

[3] See Bian Yongmin, The Challenges for Food Safety in China, 53 China Persp., para. 2 (2004), available at http:// Chinaperspectives.revues.org/document819.html.

[4] Id.

[5] Zhonghua Renmin Gonghe Gou Shipin Weisheng Fa (Shi Xing) [Food Sanitation Law of The People's Republic of China (trial version)] (promulgated by the Standing Comm. Nat'l People's Cong., Nov. 19, 1982, effective July 1, 1983, repealed 1995) (P.R.C.), available at http:// www.hflib.gov.cn/law/law/falvfagui2/XZF/FLFG/YYWS/1180.htm.

[6] Id.

[7] The Analysis of Chinese Food Safety Issues: Legislations and Governmental Supervision 45 Chinese Law and Gov. 3 (2012).

[8] Id.

[9] See Zhang Fang, Zhongguo Xiandai Shipin Anquan Jianguan Falu Zhidu de Fazhan Yu Wanshan [The Development and Improvement of China's Modern Legal Framework on Food Safety], 5 Zhengzhi Yu Falu [J. Politics & L.] 18, 18 (2007).

[10] See Xianfa [Constitution of the People's Republic of China] arts. 95, 138 (1982) (P.R.C.) translated at http://english.people.com.cn/constitution/constitution.html.

[11] The Analysis of Chinese Food Safety Issues, supra note 33.

[12] Chenglin Liu, The Obstacles of Outsourcing Imported Food Safety to China, 43 Cornell Int'l L.J. 249, 290 (2010)

[13] Id.

[14] Id.