Shanghai reveals its food safety ambition

Shanghai will have 98 percent of foods up to standard by 2022 and keep its mass food poisonings below five cases per 100,000 by that time, authorities announced on Wednesday.

Last year, 16,273 food samples in 34 categories were tested in the city, and 98.1 percent passed, a record high in nearly 14 years, according to the Shanghai Administration for Market Regulation. It was 97.8 percent the year earlier.

Shanghai will keep the bottom line of zero regional food safety hazards by 2022 and make itself a food safe city corresponding to a modern international metropolis, according to a city plan following a notice of enhancing food safety released by the State Council.

The plan was released on the city's government website.

The target is that the test amount of agricultural products and food will reach 10 batches per 1,000 people in the city by 2022, and the food safety satisfaction score among city residents will reach 90 points by that time, the plan states. It was 83.9 last year.

To achieve the goals, authorities will enhance the access threshold of foods supplied to the city and strengthen threshold evaluation and registration of import companies and businesses, according to the plan.

The city will improve information sharing among authorities about imported food safety and crack down on smuggling to stamp out food safety hazards, the plan says.

The city's monitoring network of food pollutants will cover the whole food industry chain, and authorities will enhance big data analysis of food safety sample checks and food safety risk warnings.

The management of food sample tests will be strengthened with a video record of the whole process established.

By 2025, the sample tests will cover all food supply channels, food enterprises, food categories and major items listed in food safety standards, according to the plan.

Authorities will step up intelligent management on food safety, relying on technologies such as big data, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and block chain, the plan says.

Regular inspections will be conducted on food businesses with high risks, and random inspections will cover other companies with medium or low food safety hazards. Unannounced inspections will be conducted on enterprises with food safety loopholes, according to the plan.

Systems to regulate cold-chain logistics and aquatic product manufacturing and sales will be drafted, and the joint mechanism of administrative law enforcement and criminal justice will be enhanced, it says.

Food safety will be included in the assessment of the performance of government officials, and green manufacturing on agricultural products will be promoted with the application of fertilizer and pesticide cut, the plan states.

By 2022, over 99 percent of local agricultural products will pass checks, and 100 percent of food manufacturing enterprises in the city will implement the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standard.

An alarm system for foods near their expiry date will be established and video surveillance of all catering businesses and canteens with high food safety risks will be implemented, according to the plan.

The environmental hygiene levels of catering venues will be raised, and the construction of a "central kitchen" project will be accelerated.

A remote supervision system covering food processing at school canteens will be set up, and food supervision and management at companies, medical treatment institutions and construction sites will be enhanced, the plan states.

A food safety credibility evaluation system on Internet food businesses will be established, and supervision and management of Internet food sales and service providers will be improved, according to the plan.

Protection of time-honored food brands will be enhanced, and the city's food safety incident warning and monitoring system will be improved, according to the plan.

A cluster of world-class food safety testing agencies will be formed at Zhangjiang Science Park in the Pudong New Area, and the scope of food categories to have their food safety information tracked will be expanded.

A 100 percent "closed loop" handling system on swill oil to be turned into biodiesel will be established by the end of this year, with a corresponding market operation system established, the plan says.

Specific campaigns on health products will be conducted, targeting fraud, fake promotions and infringement of consumer rights, according to the plan.

Food safety monitoring and an emergency cooperation mechanism and information tracking system in the Yangtze River Delta region will be improved, the plan states.

By 2025, there will be 100 food safety model sub-districts across the city, 5,000 model Internet food operation businesses and 20,000 offline model food operation businesses.

Rewards for food safety whistleblowers will be raised and their protection will be improved to encourage residents and insiders to report food safety violations, the plan states.

Training and testing of food business staff will also be enhanced.

By 2022, the city will have a more strict and complete food safety law and regulations and standard system, and its supervision and management level on food safety will also be lifted, according to the plan.

By 2025, Shanghai will be built into a leading food safety model city in the nation and the world, and its food safety law and regulations and hazard supervision and management level will reach advanced world standards, according to the plan.