China intensifies food safety campaign with new law enforced in October last year. (Photo : Reuters)
Around 460 or half of China's food safety testers were found to have not received government certification, the country's top legislature revealed in its inspection report released on Thursday.
Currently, there is a total of 921 institutes in China responsible for food testing.
According to China Daily, the evaluation initiated by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress was held in 10 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions from April to May.
The enforcement of the new food safety law took effect in October.
The report further said that "redundant testing institutes have been established in some areas, and many different organs may exist in a single district."
"While institutes' establishment funds were duplicated, funds for a few testing bodies at universities or academies were wasted," top legislator Zhang Dejiang noted.
Sharing the same sentiment, Chinese Academy of Engineering's Chen Junshi also confirmed that there have been difficulties in establishing the said institutes.
Chen also pointed out that improvement on this aspect may require some time.
"The China Food and Drug Administration was established just three years ago. Institutes under its authority have to be set up and qualified one after another," he said.
For researcher Fan Zhihong of the China Agricultural University, rural-based food testing bodies find it hard to get certification, citing that this problem is widespread.
"The categories of food needing to be tested have been rising, but the labor force in these areas, including townships and counties, is insufficient," the nutrition and food safety specialist noted. "Plus, food testing requires advanced devices and well-trained institute officers."
As a suggestion, she shared that officials should maximize and use currently established food testers at colleges and academies.
"We can name some qualified third-party institutes to take charge of the testing in one area," she pointed out. "If residents live in a place that has no institute, or no certified one, he or she can deliver the food to a different one."
"If such an institute works and can be asked, as a matter of policy, to pay more attention to testing food for residents, I think it will effectively alleviate the difficulty," Fan said.
