FDA plans to get tough on violators

Shanghai Food and Drug Administration and Shanghai No. 3 Intermediate People’s Court co-signed a work memo on furthering legal and administrative enforcement, as an effort to help solve difficult problems in major food and drug safety cases that had been surging locally.

The authorities said the memo lays a foundation for effective collaborations, and the court’s staff members will actively push for expert witnesses to appear in court in these criminal case trials.

Yang Jinsong, director of Shanghai Food and Drug Administration, said the memo is realizing the Party’s requirements for food safety and enforcing the Food Safety Law of Shanghai, which has vowed to introduce the strictest supervision and the toughest punished on violations.

Local FDA officials suggested increasing law enforcement officers’ professional abilities and legal mindset. They also pointed out improving legal inspection on food and drugs to offer more technological support for such cases.

The memo specifies strengthening collaboration between legal and administrative enforcement and increasing law enforcement on major crimes on food and drug safety.

The two institutions’ collaborations include investigation, penalization and blacklisting. Major cases’ disclosure, research and supervision have also been brought up in the memo. 

Yang said the city will continue a tough and efficient operation on food and drug safety case investigation and processing, and the memo will streamline the connection between administration and judicial sections.

The memo also details establishing communication systems and co-hosting work training for staff members. Educational resources and experts sharing was also mentioned.

The meeting’s participants discussed topics about joint conferences, daily communication and a judicial priority mechanism. Shanghai FDA withdrew the license of 14,147 food producers and sellers last year and fined 163 million yuan (US$24.6 million). Local police cracked 159 food safety cases last year and caught 320 suspects in the process. 

A total of 129 were sued by local prosecuterators and 63 received legal sentence for food safety crime.