China Begins Food Safety Testing Plan

China is launching a food safety monitoring plan that aims to collect and test over 1.3 million food samples annually. The plan calls for "double random" selection of randomly-chosen food items from randomly-chosen manufacturers, markets, restaurants, cafeterias and distributors. The testing program also covers imported foods and food products sold through e-commerce platforms. Results are to be made public in a timely manner.

The program was announced by the State Administration for Market Regulation in January 2019. Responsibility for carrying out 1,339,600 tests of 259 kinds of food will be allocated among the central market regulation department, provincial, and city/county bureaus. sampling should be spread throughout the year and focused seasonally or heightened during holidays, according to the program description.

• The central administration will collect and test 20,600 "double random" samples that focus on large companies, major wholesale markets with a national scope, imported food and e-commerce sites. 
• Provincial bureaus will collect 489,000 samples on food manufacturers licensed in the province, large food service enterprises, supermarkets and malls. 
• City and county bureaus are responsible for 830,000 samples of meat, eggs, fish, fruit, and vegetables in local markets and checks of small shops and restaurants. 

The program specifies multiple substances to test for each of 259 food and beverage items, health foods and nutritional supplements. Each food item is classified at three levels of risk. Foods include specific items such as instant noodles, rice noodles, flavorings for instant noodles and hot pot, soy sauce, chili oil, marinated meat, a dozen kinds of cooking oils and animal fats, MSG, and edible agricultural products. Pasteurized milk, UHT milk, and fermented milk, for example, each have a separate set of prescribed tests (all are classified as high risk).

Each item has a different set of substances to check for, but heavy metals, bacteria, aflatoxin, and antibiotics are prominent. Some foods have just three items to check for but others have more than a dozen.

• Pasteurized milk is to be checked for aflatoxin, a steroid called dexamethasone, melamine, lead, chromium, protein and acidity levels, bacterial count, staphylococcus, and salmonella. 
• Pork liver is classified as "high risk" and is to be tested for four growth-promoting beta agonists (such as clenbuterol and ractopamine) and more than a dozen antibiotics (such as nitrofurazone and chloramphenicol). 
• Soybean oil is also high risk and should be checked for acidity, arsenic, lead, benzo[a]pyrene, solvent residue, butylated hydroxyanisole, dibutylhydroxytoluene, and tert-butylhydroquinone.

Other items to check for include amino nitrogen level, benzoic acid, sorbic acid, dehydroacetic acid, rhodamine B, Sudan red, butylated hydroxyl anisole, nitrates and nitrites.

A January 31 report posted on the Administration of Market Regulation's web site says that 1,869 food samples were collected before the spring festival holiday, of which 16 failed to meet Chinese standards. The report lists the products, the reason for noncompliance, the stores where the products were sold, the name of the producer, and the name of the lab where testing was performed. Products included bamboo shoots, salted peanuts, sesame seeds, spicy beans, instant oatmeal, nutritional sesame paste, dried mango, sausage, sesame oil, and a candy made from apricot and chocolate. Products were sampled from major supermarket chain outlets in cities all over the country and an e-commerce platform. Problems detected included bacteria, residues of a bleaching agent, hydroacetic acid, and acid level outside limits prescribed by national standards.

A report from the previous week in January reveals that 17 of 2402 food samples were found to be non-compliant. Problems included microorganisms, pesticide residues, and heavy metals.