Food safety stressed for upcoming import expo
Two laboratories using rapid methods for food testing will be built for the China International Import Expo by the end of September, the city's food and drug administration said on Tuesday.
One will be located within the National Exhibition and Conference Center and the other at the food storage facility for the event, located 5 kilometers from the venue.
Rapid methods will be applied in the testing of items such as malachite green in aquatic food, vomitoxin in flour, and animal meat.
Local food and drug testing using rapid methods now covers over 500 items in 86 categories, adding five to 10 items each year since 2002.
Over 1 million food samples are subject to the tests annually, which involve over 80 rapid methods using appliances and mobile testing vehicles, according to the authority.
The mission is to improve food safety in the city for the more than 200,000 businesses which produce or sell food.
Yang Jinsong, director of the bureau, said using rapid methods in food testing is an important way to monitor food standards and address emergencies at big events, and has played its role in past events in Shanghai, such as the World Expo in 2010 and the CICA Summit in 2014.
During the import expo, administrators will be especially looking out for safety issues in food and edible agricultural products such as cooked meat, raw pork and dairy products, which are the most consumed but more susceptible to food safety problems, Yang said.
The key items for testing will include pesticide residue, nitrite, rongalite, formaldehyde and clenbuterol.
The bureau held a competition for food testing using rapid methods among all of its law enforcers on Tuesday.
Contestants competed in knowledge of laws and regulations in the field, as well as effectiveness and efficiency in food testing using rapid methods.
Contestants compete in the competition.
