Provisions on the Administration of Food Recall

Provisions on the Administration of Food Recall Order of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (No. 98) The Provisions on the Administration of Food Recall, which were deliberated and adopted at the executive meeting of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine on July 24, 2007, are hereby promulgated and shall become effective as of the date of promulgation. Director: Li Changjiang August 27, 2007 Provisions on the Administration of Food Recall Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 These Provisions are enacted according to the Product Quality Law of the People's Republic of China , the Food Hygiene Law of the People's Republic of China , Special Provisions of the State Council on Strengthening the Supervision and Administration of the Safety of Food and Other Products , and other laws and regulations for the purpose of strengthening the supervision over food safety, preventing and reducing the hazards of unsafe food, and protecting the health and safety of consumers. Article 2 The recall of food produced or sold within the territory of the People's Republic of China as well as the supervision and administration thereof shall be governed by these Provisions. Article 3 The term “unsafe food” as mentioned in these Provisions refers to the food against which there is evidence proving that it has caused or may cause hazards to human health, and includes: 1. the food that has triggered food contamination or food-borne diseases, or caused hazards to human health, or even caused death; 2. the food that may bring about food contamination or food-borne diseases, or cause hazards to human health; 3. the food containing the components that may bring about hazards to the health of specific groups; however, such components and their hazards have not been marked on food labels and written instructions, or such marks are not complete or specific; and 4. other unsafe food as prescribed in any relevant law or regulation. Article 4 The term “recall” as mentioned in these Provisions refers to such activities in which a food producer timely eliminates or reduces the food safety hazards in a batch or category of its food that is unsafe due to production cause according to the prescribed procedures and by way of exchange of foods, return of foods, supplementation or modification of consumer instructions, etc. Article 5 The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (hereinafter referred to as “AQSIQ”) shall, within the scope of its authorities, be responsible for uniformly organizing and coordinating the supervision and administration of food recall across the country. The quality and technical supervisory organ of each province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government (hereinafter referred to as the provincial quality supervisory organ) shall be responsible for uniformly organizing the supervision and administration of food recall within its jurisdiction. Article 6 The AQSIQ and the provincial quality supervisory organ shall establish an expert committee of food recall (hereinafter referred to as the “expert committee”) to provide technical support for the investigation and assessment of food safety hazards. Article 7 The AQSIQ shall strengthen the food recall management informationization construction, and organize the establishment of a food recall information management system for uniform collection, analysis and handling of the food recall information. The local quality supervisory organ at each level shall establish the quality and safety archives about the food producers within its jurisdiction, and be responsible for collecting, analyzing and handling the food safety hazards and food recall information, and reporting the information level by level. Article 8 A food producer shall establish complete product quality and safety archives as well as relevant management systems, accurately record and keep the information about raw and supplementary materials procurement, production and processing, storage and transport, sales and product identification, etc. in the production link, and keep the records on consumer complaints, incidents of food-borne diseases and food contamination incidents, as well as the archives about the disputes over food hazards. Article 9 A food producer shall timely report all the information about food safety hazards to the local provincial or municipal quality supervisory organ, and such information shall include consumer complaints and incidents of food safety hazards, etc., and shall not conceal or falsely report the fact that its food will endanger human health. Chapter II Investigation and Assessment of Food Safety Hazards Article 10 To judge whether the food is safe or not, the investigation and assessment of food safety hazards shall be made. Article 11 The investigation of food safety hazards shall mainly include: 1. Whether the food conforms to the safety requirements as set forth in the laws, regulations and standards on food safety; 2. Whether the food contains non-food raw and supplementary materials, non-food addictive chemicals, or whether the non-food is taken as food; 3. The composition of main consumption groups for the food, and the proportion thereof; and 4. The quantity, batch or category of the food possibly posing safety hazards, as well as its circulation area and scope. Article 12 The assessment of food safety hazards shall mainly include: 1. The food contamination and food-borne diseases as triggered by the food, or the hazards to human health as brought about by the food, or the possibility of the said hazards; 2. The hazards......