July 16, 2007

China implements five "systems" to improve standards of its pork market

China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce began to implement five systems to strengthen the country's supervision and management of the pork market last week.

According to the government body, these five systems are market access system, the agreement access system, mandatory withdrawal system, and the licensing and accountability systems.

For market access, all retailers (markets, supermarkets etc), including traders and wholesalers are to be registered before they can be allowed to sell pork.

For the "agreement access" system, retailers shall sign an agreement with a designated enterprise for slaughtering and processing pigs to ensure that the market would be linked with legal and approved slaughtering enterprises, ensuring traceability.

For the "mandatory withdrawal" system, those found to be selling substandard or unqualified pork shall immediately withdraw from the market and would be ordered to carry out rectification. Unqualified pork include pork from diseased pigs, pork that has not been inspected and pork injected with water.

For licensing, traders engaged in selling pork must display their business license, sanitation permit, inspection and quarantine certificate, and health certificates at a notice board. The notice board would also indicate the place of origin of the pork, the name of the designated slaughter house, the time the pork was bought and its price.

The person who runs the market would be the person accountable for the quality of pork. This person shall sign a responsibility letter with the businessmen of the market and a letter with local authorities guaranteeing pork quality.

This is not the first time the State Administration for Industry and Commerce has issued circulars on properly supervising and managing the pork market. The addition of the five systems is to make clear and improve relevant supervision and management measures, the government body said.

While there are laws and systems to ensure the market operates smooth, what is crucial at present is the implementation part, an official said.