China Revises the Quality and Safety Law of Agricultural Products

On September 2, 2022, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress officially promulgated the new version of the Quality and Safety Law of Agricultural Products, which will come into effect on January 1, 2023.

As the cardinal law of agricultural products in China, the Quality and Safety Law of Agricultural Products was developed to regulate the risk management and standard development of the quality and safety of agricultural products, the place of origin, production and sale of agricultural products, as well as stakeholder's legal responsibilities. The current version was released in 2006 and first amended in 2018. Since June of 2019, three times of comments solicitations have been carried out for the revision of this law. The latest revision will further enhance the supervision on the whole process of agricultural products from the farmland to the dining table. The following is the major revisions:

Main Updates & Changes 

1. Quality and safety responsibility for agricultural products is clarified: the new version further clarifies that producers and operators of agricultural products shall be responsible for the quality and safety of the agricultural products they produce and operate. Besides, the quality and safety responsibilities of those engaged in cold chain logistics of agricultural products and those selling agricultural products on online platforms are clearly stipulated.

2. Management on the production source is enhanced: the new version aims to establish and improve the monitoring system of agricultural products’ origin. It is clearly stated that the competent agricultural and rural departments, together with relevant departments, will propose to delimit the forbidden production areas of specific agricultural products, and make clear the prohibited behaviors in such areas, such as no planting, breeding, fishing, or collecting specific agricultural products.

3. Regulatory requirements during storage and transportation are added: one of the highlights in the new version is the addition of regulatory requirements for quality and safety during storage and transportation. It is specified that containers, tools and equipment for storing and transporting agricultural products shall be safe and harmless. To prevent pollution of agricultural products, it is forbidden to store or transport agricultural products together with toxic or harmful substances.

4. Compliance commitment system is proposed to be established: as noted in the Article 39 of the new version, the compliance commitment system shall be established for production enterprises of agricultural products and professional farmers cooperatives to undertake not to use banned pesticides, veterinary drugs or other compounds, or exceed the established MRLs. The system also applies to units and individuals engaged in purchasing agricultural products. The establishment of this system helps further improve the agricultural product traceability system, which makes it feasible to view and track the commitment content, commitment basis, product name, place of origin, producer and other information in all stages of production and circulation.

5. Penalties for violations are strengthened: the new version strengthens the punishment for illegal acts related to edible agricultural products, and brings a lighter punishment for farmers as a deterrent. In addition, penalties for production enterprises failing to establish agricultural product quality and safety management systems, inspectors issuing false test reports, and any units or individuals violating the regulations on prohibited behaviors in prohibited production areas have been added.