The General Office of the State Council Deploys Efforts to Strengthen the Supervision of Agricultural Product Quality and Safety

Guobanfa [2013] No. 106

To the people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and to all ministries and commissions of the State Council and all institutions directly under the State Council:

In recent years, all regions and relevant departments, in accordance with the arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, have earnestly implemented the relevant laws and regulations and continuously strengthened supervisory measures, and the overall situation of agricultural product quality and safety has been generally stable and gradually improving. However, China's agricultural production and operation are scattered, and supervision capacity is weak, so there are still considerable hidden risks in the quality and safety of agricultural products. In order to implement the spirit of the Plan for Institutional Reform and Functional Transformation of the State Council reviewed and approved at the First Session of the Twelfth National People's Congress and the Guiding Opinions of the State Council on Local Reform and Improvement of the Food and Drug Supervision and Management System (Guofa [2013] No. 18), and with the consent of the State Council, the notice on strengthening the supervision of agricultural product quality and safety is hereby issued as follows:

I. Strengthen territorial management responsibilities

Local people's governments at all levels shall assume overall responsibility for the quality and safety of agricultural products in their regions, strengthen organizational leadership and work coordination, place the supervision of agricultural product quality and safety on their important agendas, and increase support in planning, staffing, and safeguards for conditions. The quality and safety of agricultural products shall be included in the performance assessment of county- and township-level people's governments, with measures such as assessment and evaluation, supervision and oversight made clear. In light of local realities, mechanisms linking food and drug supervision with agricultural product quality and safety supervision shall be established in a coordinated manner, departmental responsibilities shall be refined, and the division of work in each link of agricultural product quality and safety supervision shall be clarified to avoid unclear supervisory responsibilities, duplicate supervision, and blind spots in supervision. Agricultural product producers and operators shall be urged to fulfill their primary responsibilities and establish and improve systems for production area environmental management, production process control, packaging and labeling, and market entry and exit. For problems such as dereliction of duty, malfeasance, and bending the law for personal gain in the supervision of agricultural product quality and safety, supervisory organs shall investigate and handle them in accordance with law and discipline and strictly hold the relevant personnel accountable.

II. Implement supervision tasks

Service guidance and supervision and inspection of agricultural product production and operation shall be strengthened, and producers and operators shall be urged to earnestly implement systems such as safety intervals (withdrawal periods) and production records. Inspection, testing, and administrative law enforcement shall be strengthened, and enterprises engaged in the purchase, storage, and transport of agricultural products shall be urged to establish and improve systems for incoming goods inspection, quality traceability, and recall. Guidance on the use of agricultural inputs shall be strengthened, approval, production, and operation management shall be advanced in a coordinated manner, access thresholds shall be raised, and main marketing channels shall be kept open. Publicity and science education shall be strengthened, laws, regulations, and scientific knowledge on agricultural product quality and safety shall be popularized, and the quality and safety awareness of producers, operators, and consumers shall be raised. Agricultural departments at all levels shall strengthen quality and safety supervision in the planting and breeding stages of agricultural products and effectively shoulder the responsibility for quality and safety supervision of agricultural products from the planting and breeding stages until they enter wholesale or retail markets or production and processing enterprises.

III. Advance standardized agricultural production

The concept of green production shall be upheld, production norms and standards safeguarding agricultural product quality and safety shall be formulated more quickly, the promotion of quality control technologies shall be intensified, and standardized production shall be advanced. Continued progress shall be made in building standardized horticultural crop parks, standardized livestock and poultry breeding demonstration farms, standardized healthy aquaculture demonstration farms, and agricultural standardization demonstration counties, technical guidance and services shall be strengthened for large-scale production and operation entities such as leading enterprises in agricultural industrialization, farmers' cooperatives, and family farms, and their exemplary and leading role in carrying out standardized production shall be given full play. Localities with the conditions shall be encouraged to provide support for the production of safe and high-quality agricultural products and the promotion of green prevention and control technologies. Post-certification supervision of pollution-free agricultural products, green food, organic agricultural products, and geographical indication agricultural products shall be strengthened, and counterfeit acts shall be resolutely combated.

⟦NL> IV. Strengthen supervision of livestock and poultry slaughtering

In accordance with the requirements of the State Council's institutional reform and functional transformation work, all regions shall properly carry out the adjustment of supervisory responsibilities for designated pig slaughtering, and the functions involved shall be transferred in place promptly to ensure orderly connection of all work. Animal husbandry and veterinary departments at all levels shall earnestly implement the quality and safety supervision responsibilities for livestock and poultry slaughtering, strengthen the primary responsibility of livestock and poultry slaughterhouses (farms) for quality and safety, urge them to implement systems such as inspection registration and testing upon entry into the plant (farm), strictly conduct inspections and random testing, and resolutely put an end to acts such as slaughtering diseased or dead animals and water injection. Work on livestock and poultry slaughter quarantine shall be effectively carried out, dynamic supervision of livestock and poultry epidemic prevention conditions shall be strengthened, a long-term mechanism for the harmless treatment of diseased and dead livestock and poultry shall be improved, the relevant provisions on animal husbandry and veterinary administrative law enforcement shall be strictly implemented, and illegal and non-compliant acts such as unauthorized slaughtering and indiscriminate slaughtering shall be severely cracked down on.

V. Carry out in-depth special rectification

Special rectification actions for agricultural product quality and safety shall be carried out in depth, cases of illegal addition, counterfeit and shoddy production and sales, and the like shall be severely investigated and handled, and prominent problems such as the illegal and non-compliant use of highly toxic pesticides, “lean meat powder”, and banned veterinary drugs shall be effectively resolved. Administrative law enforcement for agricultural product quality and safety shall be strengthened, the intensity of case investigation and punishment shall be increased, the connection between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice shall be strengthened, and illegal and criminal acts shall be severely punished. Relevant cases shall be exposed in a timely manner to create a sound social atmosphere for combating counterfeiting and safeguarding rights. Risk monitoring, assessment, and supervisory random inspection of agricultural product quality and safety shall be strengthened, risk hidden dangers shall be thoroughly investigated, and the capacity for risk prevention, monitoring and early warning, and emergency response shall be improved. The activity of creating demonstration counties for agricultural product quality and safety supervision shall be advanced, and supervision systems and models shall be established and improved.

VI. Improve supervision capacity

Funding for agricultural product quality and safety supervision, testing, and law enforcement shall be included in the fiscal budgets at all levels, investment shall be effectively increased, work forces shall be strengthened, and necessary facilities and equipment for inspection and testing, law enforcement evidence collection, sample collection, and quality traceability shall be fully equipped as soon as possible. The construction of the agricultural product quality and safety inspection and testing system shall be accelerated, resources from all sides shall be integrated, social capital shall be actively guided to participate, mutual connection and work coordination of testing in all links shall be achieved, and duplicate construction and waste of resources shall be prevented. In particular, the county-level agricultural product quality and safety supervision system shall be strengthened, and agricultural product quality and safety supervision and law enforcement shall be included in the scope of comprehensive agricultural law enforcement to ensure that supervision work is carried out effectively. Township-level public service institutions for agricultural product quality and safety supervision, as well as agricultural, animal husbandry, and aquaculture technology promotion institutions undertaking corresponding responsibilities, shall fulfill their duties and do a good job in farmer training, quality and safety technology promotion, supervision and inspection, and implementation of supervision measures.

General Office of the State Council

December 2, 2013

(This document is publicly released)