BEIJING: China is intensifying its crackdown on food safety crimes and tightening oversight of online food sales and other emerging business models, according to a new guideline.
The guideline, issued by the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, calls for tougher penalties for serious offenses and closer coordination between food safety regulators and criminal justice authorities.
A commission representative said on Monday that China’s food safety situation remained generally stable, but authorities faced new challenges as food safety crimes became more sophisticated, increasingly exploited online platforms and spanned multiple stages of the supply chain.
The guideline identifies meat products, school meals, health foods, vegetables and fruit as top enforcement priorities. It also calls for tighter scrutiny of food production, online sales, catering services and imports.
To improve coordination between administrative enforcement and criminal proceedings, the guideline calls for clearer procedures for referring suspected criminal cases and better information sharing between agencies. China also plans to expedite revisions to the food safety law to clarify the regulatory responsibilities of businesses involved in fresh food e-commerce, food delivery and livestream sales.
The guideline also calls for authorities to update lists of banned additives as investigations identify new illegal substances.
It further urges authorities to address food safety risks uncovered in individual cases and strengthen oversight across the supply chain. –Agencies
