China to Establish Producer “Black List” to Fortify Food and Drug Safety Regulations

On 12 Dec., China Food and Drug Administration released the Provisions on the Administration of the "Black List" System for Food and Drug Safety (Draft for Comments) which is open for public comment until January 10, 2014. China is planning to establish a “black list” of companies that violate food safety laws with the aim of fortifying food and drug safety regulation and promoting consumer awareness. Producers and operators included into the “black list” will face increased regulatory supervision.

Under current legislation, food producers that purchase or use food raw materials, food additives or food related products not conforming to food safety standard (or adding other illegal substances into food), will be ordered to suspend production and in serious circumstances have their production license revoked. These companies will subsequently be included into the “black list”.

Companies using fallacious, unsubstantiated or misleading marketing specifically relating to medicinal claims, will also be ordered to suspend production and in the case of serious breaches of regulations have their business license revoked. These companies will also be included into the “black list”.

Additions to the “black list” are disseminated by the Food and Drug Administration Departments via publication of negative verdicts on the official governmental website within 15 days of the initial judgment. This will include information such as the producers and operators name, persons-in-charge and relevant products. Other additional information may include product batch numbers, label approval number and production license numbers.