Ministry of Agriculture Strengthens Veterinary Drug Quality Supervision, Severely Penalizes 8 Manufacturing Enterprises

    Recently, a reporter learned from the Ministry of Agriculture that, following investigations opened by local veterinary administrative authorities, 7 enterprises including Henan Shengfulong Animal Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Xinxiang Baiyang Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd. Bailan Pharmaceutical Branch, Sichuan Hedi Animal Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Chongqing Jiheng Animal Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Sichuan Laibang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Guangxi Yongning Veterinary Drug Research Co., Ltd., and Guangxi Yulin Guinan Veterinary Drug Factory were found to have committed one or more illegal acts, such as producing veterinary drugs without obtaining approval numbers for veterinary drug products, illegally adding other ingredients to veterinary drug products, producing veterinary drugs in workshops not approved as veterinary drug GMP workshops, and producing veterinary drugs whose quality did not meet the regulations; Guangxi Lingwei Animal Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. obtained approval numbers for veterinary drug products in 2014 by providing false materials and samples. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Administrative Penalty Law of the People's Republic of China and the Regulations on the Administration of Veterinary Drugs, the Ministry of Agriculture decided to revoke the Veterinary Drug Production Licenses and veterinary drug product approval numbers of the above 7 enterprises, withdraw their Veterinary Drug GMP Certificates, and impose on the persons responsible the penalty of being permanently prohibited from engaging in veterinary drug production and business activities; and to revoke the veterinary drug product approval numbers of 16 products, including florfenicol powder, obtained by Guangxi Lingwei Animal Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in 2014.

Next, the Ministry of Agriculture will resolutely implement the deployment requirements put forward in this year's government work report to “comprehensively address the problems of pesticide and veterinary drug residues, and comprehensively improve the quality of agricultural products and the level of food safety”, continuously increase the intensity of veterinary drug quality supervision, and effectively safeguard the safety of animal-derived food for the people. First, further strengthen veterinary drug supervision and law enforcement. Pay attention to source control and strengthen supervision of the production and business processes. Strengthen the linkage between inspection and enforcement, severely crack down on illegal acts such as illegal addition and the manufacture and sale of counterfeit and substandard products, and leave fake and inferior veterinary drugs nowhere to hide. Maintain a high-pressure stance at all times against illegal and non-compliant acts involving veterinary drugs, and resolutely ensure that every case is investigated and every violation is prosecuted, with strict requirements and heavy penalties. Second, further strengthen the monitoring of veterinary antibacterial drug residues. Local veterinary administrative authorities are required to understand and grasp the extreme importance of this work from the height of safeguarding the safety of animal-derived food, deeply organize and carry out special rectification activities for the business and use of veterinary antibacterial drugs, and severely crack down on illegal and non-compliant acts such as using antibacterial drugs beyond the dosage or scope and failing to observe withdrawal periods. Third, further advance the quality traceability management of veterinary drug products. Use information technology to implement an electronic traceability code system for veterinary drug products, effectively solve the problem of “where veterinary drug products come from and who produced them”, and better carry out precise crackdowns on illegal acts. Fourth, further strengthen publicity and training. Create an atmosphere and environment in which producers, operators and users all participate and mutually reinforce one another, urge and guide standardized production, lawful business operations and scientific use of veterinary drugs, and jointly keep a good quality gate for the inputs that safeguard the safety of animal-derived food.