McDonald's China.jpg (Photo : Reuters)
Food and drug safety in China is still considered weak. The government is encouraged to put up much stronger rules and regulations to make sure drug and safety issues of last year would not continue this year.
In 2014, a series of food safety scares hit the country, affecting the reputation of multinational food companies McDonald's and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. The Chinese government is encouraged to put up stricter laws that would make sure the same would not happen again.
Moreover, food and drug safety in China is considered "grim," with new threats and old threats piling up together.
"We must soberly recognize the current foundations of China's food and drug safety are still weak, with new and old risks together creating a grim situation," the China Food and Drug Administration stated on its website following a meeting in Beijing this week.
China has been struggling to contain scandals related to food and drug safety for the past few years. The country saw cases such as donkey meat products being mixed with fox, baby food containing metals, and fast food chains selling already expired meat. These series of cases are making the public and the foreigners wary of the food being sold in China.
According to Reuters, with safety scares left and right, regulators are up to their necks with work and investigative personnel are already thinly stretched. Inspectors also face the challenging task of dealing with China's fragmented food supply chains.
To respond to these problems, the government is planning to improve and increase active regulation by expanding on-site inspections, conducting more random tests and carrying out more surprise visits of companies.
In addition, personnel, legal structures, technological sources, as well as management methods would all be overhauled. Relevant training would be provided as well.
