Beijing health supervisory authorities will introduce a
selective investigation system among catering companies in a bid to
cut down on the increasing number of poisoning scares in the
industry.
The system, which will classify catering companies into four
grades from A to D based on their cleanliness and hygienic
practices, will first used with hotels and restaurants. The program
will begin early next year, and will be extended to cover the
entire food industry by 2006, according to the city's health
bureau.
Food companies with good hygiene conditions and at low risk of
food contamination and poisoning will get A-grade certification,
while those classified as D will be ordered to suspend operation
and clean up their facilities within a fixed period of time, or
face permanent shut-down.
"Clients will be able to check the hygiene rating of restaurants
or hotels because the grade certification will be prominently
displayed,'' said Tian Jianxin, an official with the health
bureau.
Beijing has reported 42 cases of food poisoning this year,
involving 751 people, one of whom died from eating contaminated
wild herbs.
More than 85 percent of these cases were caused by unhygienic
practices in food processing, said Deng Ying, another official with
the bureau.
Deng said the introduction of the selective control system may
help supervisors focus on companies whose hygiene conditions are
unsatisfactory and provide such companies with clear standards to
follow.
Another hygiene management system -- the Hazard Analysis and
Critical Control Point (HACCP), which has been applied to 57 food
suppliers who provide meals to students -- will also be extended to
some other sectors including dairy producers, and meat and vinegar
companies, according to Deng.
HACCP is a management system in which food safety is addressed
through the analysis and control of biological, chemical, and
physical hazards, through raw material production, procurement and
handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the
finished food.
Deng said his health bureau would hold training classes for food
company managers to introduce HACCP principles and their
implementation.
(China Daily November 8, 2003)