A draft of rules designed to protect the safety of exported and imported food has been opened for public debate until next Friday.

It is the first systematic regulation concerning the safety of exported and imported food, said Liu Zhaobin, director of the policy and legislation department of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, which drafted the rules.

The import and export of food additives, food products, grains, fruit and live animals intended for human consumption are all covered by the regulations.

"Previously, there were only rules concerning a certain type of food products, such as meat and fruit," Liu said.

According to the draft, export food producers are required to record all purchases of raw materials, food additives and packaging. They must also record the production processes they have used and the results of any inspections their products have undergone prior to shipping.

This data must be retained for at least two years in case there is a need to consult the documents.

Farms that provide raw materials for exported food products are required to keep similar records and they must be registered with inspection and quarantine departments.

These farms have additionally been ordered to set up an epidemic inspection system, the draft says.

Those that are found to have exported unqualified food will be made known to the public.

Supervision and quarantine departments will impose fines of up to 30,000 yuan (US$4,400) on food exporters who are found to have improperly used agricultural chemicals, materials from unregistered providers, or to have forged records and certificates.

Food safety experts have embraced the draft for its potential to improve the regulation of the industry, after a string of incidents involving food exports tainted China's image.

Sang Liwei, a Beijing-based food safety expert, said the new rules will help implement the Food Safety Law, which took effect last June.

However, she expressed doubt over the efficiency of using fines to penalize those who violate the rules, because the proposed fines are too low for the size of their operations. Instead, she suggested that they be prohibited from being allowed to export their products.

(China Daily July 8, 2010)