U.S., China to Continue Food Safety Cooperation

By CnAgri Print

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Tuesday that it has renewed an agreement with the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine of China (AQSIQ) to enhance cooperation between the U.S. and China on food and feed safety. The two countries entered into the original agreement in 2007, and today抯 announcement extends the agreement for an additional five years.

The agreement includes enhancement of FDA's ability to identify high-risk food products entering the United States from China; collaboration to facilitate inspections of facilities that process and produce food; a focus on high-risk foods frequently exported from China to the United States, including canned and acidified foods, pet food and aquaculture; and the creation of processes for FDA to accept relevant, verified information from AQSIQ regarding registration and certification.

In November 2008, after the two countries signed the original agreement, FDA opened offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. These offices have enhanced public health protection by strengthening FDA's relationship with Chinese food safety authorities, performing inspections, conducting outreach to Chinese industry representatives regarding FDA requirements, and gathering information on trends and events that affect the safety of food exported from China to the United States.

Joint outreach on the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. Since enactment of FSMA in 2011, FDA has worked with AQSIQ to conduct multiple outreach events for Chinese food safety officials and regulated industry on the impact this historic new law will have on Chinese food exports to the United States.