A citizen enjoys food at a restaurant in Xixiu District of Anshun, southwest China's Guizhou province, Jan. 24, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

China has announced a new comprehensive guideline aimed at strengthening oversight across the entire food supply chain, from farms to consumer tables.

The policy, jointly issued by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, China's Cabinet, outlines stricter controls and enforcement measures to enhance public health protection and ensure food quality.

The new guideline emphasizes greater coordination between regulatory bodies and a focus on improving food safety at every stage of production, distribution and sale. A key component of the reforms includes the establishment of a traceability system for agricultural products, enabling better monitoring from farms to markets. This is intended to prevent unsafe products from entering the food supply while allowing authorities to respond quickly to any safety issues that might arise.

The policy also tightens regulations surrounding food production and business licensing. Producers and distributors will now face more stringent checks before receiving licenses, and compliance will be rigorously enforced at both the provincial and local levels.

Traditional food producers will be required to meet modern safety standards while preserving cultural practices.

In addition to improving food production standards, the policy addresses food storage and transportation. New safety protocols for warehouses and logistics companies aim to ensure that food is stored and transported under controlled conditions, preventing contamination or spoilage.

As online food sales continue to grow, the document emphasizes the responsibilities of e-commerce platforms and livestreaming hosts in selling food products online. It calls for "ensuring the accountability of online food sales entities and strengthening the collaborative governance of food safety issues in online sales" to improve regulation of the emerging sector. Furthermore, it requires the establishment of a comprehensive regulatory mechanism for food service.

For imported food products, the policy introduces a risk management framework to ensure that all foreign foods entering China meet domestic safety standards. This includes additional oversight of food sold through cross-border e-commerce channels.

In January, data from the Ministry of Public Security showed that 12,000 cases of food safety crimes were solved last year.

Last week, a reporter from The Beijing News conducted undercover visits to several Yangmingyu Braised Chicken and Rice franchise stores in Henan province. They observed kitchens using spoiled mushrooms and processing overnight darkened beef with coloring agents for reuse. They also witnessed leftover food from customers being recycled and reprocessed.

This year's CCTV 3.15 Gala also exposed the issue of excessive phosphate levels in water-injected shrimp sold on various online platforms though advertisements for these shrimp frequently featured claims of "zero additives" and "zero moisture retention agents".