The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is to begin carrying out checks on Chinese food products following approval from the State Department. FDA will create eight new positions at US diplomatic missions throughout China over the next 18 months, provided final approval comes from the authorities in Beijing.
The staff, who will be based in the US Embassy in Beijing and the US Consulates General in Shanghai and Guangzhou, will work alongside Chinese experts in carrying out inspections of food production plants whose output is destined for the US market. All Chinese producers of items covered under the food safety agreement signed in December 2007 must register with Chinese authorities, who will share that data with the Department of Health and Human Services.
Chinese regulatory authorities will certify that food and feed covered by the agreement meet US standards and to verify compliance, the Chinese are adopting quality-assurance methods every step of the way.
For additional information on the FDA's international programs, please visit www.fda.gov/ola/overview.html.
For more information on the Memoranda of Agreement signed in December 2007 between the United States and the People's Republic of China, please go to www.hhs.gov/news/press/2007/pres/12/pr20071211a.html. (Source: FEMA)
