Campaign for Food Safety    

By Lily Wang   

Chinese government puts more attention on food safety after dairy products containing melamine sickened thousands of infants in the country.
   On September 22nd, the Ministry of Commerce of China ordered its local agencies to make efforts to supervise foods, dairy products, medicines, toys and furniture products for exports.
   Local commerce agencies should set up special quality supervision working groups and form quality reporting system of goods for exports. Manufacturers should take responsibilities for recalling all problem products swiftly, according to MOC.
   On September 17th, the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) announced to strengthen supervision and management on feed melamine for exports and imported. Local departments are requested to set up strict register system for exports/imports of melamine and punish illegal acts.
    The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China is investigating the melamine distributions of major melamine producers, including sales areas, amount and customers. Melamine producers are required to label "no used in food and feed" in melamine package bags.     
   Li Changjiang has been resigned from the minister of AQSIQ since September 22nd owing to the responsibility for the dairy products contamination.
   Dairy giant Sanlu Group, a flagitious maker of milk powder scandal, headquartered in Shijiazhuang of Hebei province.
   On the same day, some officials including mayor and chief in Shijiazhuang municipal government were removed for their failure to handling the food safety scandal.  
   A national campaign on food safety and product quality has been launched, aiming to ensure quality of food. The diary products scandal shows China need to further intense management of food quality. "The supervision mechanism must be reformed to ensure safety of products manufactured in China," said experts.