May 13, 2008

China's Fujian tightens farm inspection procedures

China's Fujian province recently improved its agricultural inspection quality, which now surpasses that of Japan, the US and EU, the agriculture department said.

Despite its small size, Fujian was mainland China's third largest exporter of farm produce in the first four months of 2008, with total value growing by 28 percent.

The province's agricultural department attributed the success to province-wide attention to export quality and consumer safety.

The department sets standards for farm produce and conducts routine and random sampling. It also has detailed rules for quality supervision.

The department now has 609 agricultural standards and 102 model zones for agricultural production to help it build a sound farming system.

Currently, Fujian had granted certificates for safe, green and organic products to 726 enterprises by the end of last year that produced 1,298 different agricultural items.

Furthermore, the city has strengthened supervision and widened sampling for pesticide residues.

To date this year, supervisors inspected 2,700 pig samples, 48 milk products and 85 poultry products.