A new food safety monitoring system will be put into operation
by the end of next year, authorities have said.
Currently being piloted in the city's Tianhe district, the
system covers all aspects of the supply process, from raw materials
to restaurants. It provides an electronic record of test results
and related information and sends automatic warnings and updates to
government departments and retailers.
Cao Jianliao, vice-mayor of Guangzhou, said yesterday the system
was part of a range of measures to ensure food safety. He was
speaking at the launch of food safety week.
The event, jointly organized by the provincial food safety
office of Guangdong, the municipal food safety office of Guangzhou
and Carrefour (China) Food Safety Foundation, aims to promote food
safety across the city.
Other measures being taken to ensure food safety include
labeling vegetables with their ID information - production origin,
fertilizer and pesticide applications and test results; extending
the "safe breakfast" program to the suburban population; and
extending the "safe lunch" service, initially tailored to
elementary and secondary schools, to local companies, Cao said.
He said vegetables with ID information will be available in
quantity in about a month, and the city government is currently
tendering bids for more qualified breakfast and lunch service
providers to expand the safe breakfast and lunch service
network.
"Ensuring food safety requires supervision by the government,
responsible suppliers and consumer participation to help weed out
unsafe products," Cao said.
"And food suppliers have the most important job of all."
Cao said the city government will also improve its food safety
credit mechanism by updating regulations, setting up credit
archives for suppliers, applying an electronic monitoring system to
food processing, standardizing the food market threshold, sharing
safety information, and improving the emergency mechanism.
Lin Jing, the deputy secretary-general of Carrefour (China) Food
Safety Foundation, said the foundation has spared no efforts to
promote food quality and safety in China since it was set up in
2004.
(China Daily September 4, 2007)