In the first half of 2015, a total of 4,960 tonnes of substandard imported food was handled
On July 30, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine released the "Quality and Safety Status of China's Imported Food in the First Half of 2015 (White Paper)". The white paper pointed out that in the first half of 2015, from imported food originating in 57 countries or regions, China returned or destroyed 1,225 batches of substandard imported food, weighing 4,960 tonnes and worth 14.52 million USD, a year-on-year decrease of 12.3% and 31.8% and an increase of 67.6% respectively. In the first half of the year, no major imported food problems occurred.
According to data published by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, China's imported food grew 4.2 times over 10 years, with an average annual growth rate of 17.6%. In the first half of 2015, China imported 552,000 batches of food, 20.352 million tonnes and 22.23 billion USD from 179 countries or regions, a year-on-year increase of 11.9%, 21.2% and -10.8% respectively.
The top 10 in terms of imported food trade value were: the European Union, ASEAN, the United States, New Zealand, Brazil, Australia, Russia, Canada, Ukraine and South Korea; oils and oilseeds, dairy products, aquatic products and preparations, meat, cereal products, alcoholic beverages, sugar and beverages were the main categories of imported food.
Among them, imports of major products such as edible vegetable oil, milk powder, meat and aquatic products reached 3.395 million tonnes, 614,000 tonnes, 1.325 million tonnes and 2.006 million tonnes respectively.
In 2015, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine further improved the imported food safety supervision system, further tightened inspection, quarantine and supervision of imported food, vigorously implemented the responsibilities of imported food producers and operators, and actively promoted international co-governance of food safety, effectively safeguarding the safety of imported food. In the first half of the year, no major imported food problems occurred.
In the first half of 2015, from imported food originating in 57 countries or regions, a total of 1,225 batches of substandard imported food were returned or destroyed, weighing 4,960 tonnes and worth 14.52 million USD, a year-on-year decrease of 12.3% and 31.8% and an increase of 67.6% respectively. Among them, beverages, pastries and biscuits, and cereals and their products were the main categories of substandard food; the main reasons for substandard imported food included: substandard food additives, microbial contamination and substandard quality.
It is understood that on this year's World Health Day (April 7), the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine released the "2014 Quality and Safety Status of Imported Food (White Paper)", which attracted widespread attention from all sectors of society. The release of the "Quality and Safety Status of Imported Food in the First Half of 2015 (White Paper)" will better guide the whole of society in understanding the overall situation of imported food, build an information-sharing platform among the government, enterprises and consumers, and provide a reference for inspection and supervision departments at all levels in doing a good job of imported food supervision. At the same time, it provides basic data support for quality and safety management and development strategies in China's food industry.