Regulatory and policy control on food safety in China

摘要

Food safety incidents in China over the past two decades have not just threatened the health of the people in the country but have also caused international concern, as China is now a major food exporter in the international market. One of the most infamous food safety scandals in China in recent years, the 'melamine milk' incident, came to light in September 2008. This incident attracted so much international attention that within about 2 months, the United Nations system launched a paper to prompt China to improve food safety. In this editorial, readers will be updated with the recent and less well-known changes to the major control mechanisms for food safety in mainland China. Major weaknesses in this control regime will be discussed in order to raise awareness, as well as to pave the way for making recommendations for improvement.