Beijing lawmakers are considering a new law that would force
food makers and sellers to be responsible for recalling their
unsafe products, say sources at the 37th session of the Standing
Committee of the 12th Municipal People's Congress.
A draft of the Regulations Regarding Food Safety in Beijing City
before the committee stipulates that food producers and vendors
should take the initiative to recall food that is found to contain
actual or potential health hazards.
Zhang Zhikuan, head of the municipal government coordination
office for supervision of food safety, said the system would ensure
producers and vendors exercised their responsibilities in reducing
hazards, and lower government costs in supervision and
management.
He considered penalties laid out in current regulations far too
lenient, and inadequate as a deterrent to unsafe practices.
The draft regulations listed 65 food categories commonly used in
daily life, such as rice, flour, edible oils, and genetically
modified foodstuffs for strict monitoring, said Ji Wei, section
chief of food quality control of the industry and commerce
department.
The draft regulations devoted 18 articles to penalties in case
of violations, with the highest fine fixed at 500,000 yuan, said
Ji.
Article 28, for instance, said producers and vendors of unsafe
food could receive lenient treatment or even be exempted from
penalties if they took the initiative to promptly recall unsafe
food.
Before Tuesday's opening of the 37th session of the Standing
Committee of the 12th Municipal People's Congress, officials had
openly sought public submissions on and held workshops to discuss
the draft.
Standing committee members are expected to vote on the
regulations on Friday.
Last year, the city's industry and commerce authority ordered
1,480 unsafe food products to be withdrawn from sale, and 21 firms
that were repeatedly found with problematic food were banned from
city markets.
(Xinhua News Agency July 25 2007)
