No. 557

Regulation on the Implementation of the Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China was adopted at the 73rd State Council executive meeting on July 8, 2009 and hereby promulgated, which shall enter into effect as of the date of its promulgation.

Premier Wen Jiabao

July 20, 2009

Regulation on the Implementation of the Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China

Chapter One   General Provisions

Article 1 The Regulation herein was formulated in accordance with the Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as Food Safety Law).

Article 2 The people’s governments at or above the county level shall perform the duties prescribed in the Food Safety Law, strengthen the construction of supervision and administration capacity of food safety to provide safeguard for food safety supervision and administration; and establish and improve the coordination mechanism for food safety supervisory and management departments and integrate and perfect the food safety information network to realize the sharing of food safety information and technical resources including food inspection.

Article 3 The food producers and traders shall, in accordance with laws, regulations and food safety standards, carry out productive and operational activities, establish and improve the food safety management system and adopt efficient management measures to ensure food safety.

The food producers and traders shall be responsible for the safety of produced and trade food themselves as well as society and the public, and also bear social responsibility.

Article 4 The food safety supervision and administration departments shall publicize food safety information and provide convenience for the public to make consultations, complaints and accusations according to the provisions of the Food Safety Law and the Regulation herein. And any organization and individual shall have the right to know food safety information from relevant departments.

Chapter Two Food Safety Risk Monitoring and Assessment

Article 5 The state food safety risk monitoring plan prescribed in Article 11 of the Food Safety Law shall be formulated by the administrative department of public health under the State Council together with such departments as the department in charge of supervision and control over product quality and the industrial and commercial administration under the State Council and the state food and drug supervision and administration department as well as the commercial, industrial and information departments under the State Council according to the requirements for the work including food safety risk assessment, the formulation and revision of food safety standards and food safety supervision and administration.

Article 6 The administrative departments of public health of the People’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall organize the departments at the same level of quality supervision, industrial and commercial administration management, food and drug supervision and administration, commerce and industry and information, in accordance with the provisions of Article 11 of the Food Safety Law, to formulate the food safety risk monitoring planning for their administrative regions and report to the administrative department of public health under the State Council for filing.

   The administrative department of public health under the State Council shall notify the filing to the departments of quality supervision and industrial and commercial administration management under the State Council and the state food and drug supervision and administration department as well as the departments of commerce, industry and information under the State Council.

Article 7 The administrative department of public health under the State Council shall, when necessary, also adjust the state food safety risk monitoring plan according to the information related to diseases in the reports of medical institutions, apart from the adjustment based on the provisions of Article 12 of the Food Safety Law.

   In the wake of the adjustment of the state food safety risk monitoring plan, the administrative departments of public health of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall integrate the specific situations of their own administrative regions to make corresponding adjustment.

Article 8 Medical institutions shall, when finding the accepted patients are food origin disease patients, food poisoning patients or suspected food origin disease patients and food poisoning patients, timely report to the administrative departments of public health of the people’s governments at or above the county level where they are located the information related to the above-mentioned diseases.

   The administrative departments of public health that have received reports shall gather and analyze the information related to diseases, timely report to the people’s governments at the same level and simultaneously the superior administrative departments of public health, when necessary, and directly report to the administrative department of public health under the State Council and simultaneously the people’s governments at the same level and the superior administrative departments of public health.

Article 9 The food safety risk monitoring work shall be done by the technical institutions confirmed by the administrative departments of public health at or above the provincial level together with the departments of quality supervision, industrial and commercial administration management and food and drug supervision and administration.

   The technical institutions conducting the food safety risk monitoring work shall, in accordance with the food safety risk monitoring plan and monitoring scheme, carry out the monitoring work to ensure the truth and accuracy of monitoring data, and according to the requirement of the food safety risk monitoring plan and monitoring scheme, submit the monitoring data and analysis results to the administrative departments of public health of the people’s governments at or above the provincial level and the departments transmitting monitoring tasks to lower level.

   The food safety risk monitoring personnel shall have access to the places related to breeding and planting of edible farm products, food production, food circulation or catering service while collecting samples and related data. The collected samples shall be paid at the market price.

Article 10 Where the results of the food safety risk monitoring analysis indicates there may exist the possibility of potential food safety hazard, the administrative departments of public health of the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall timely notify relevant information to the people’s governments at the prefecture and county level and their administrative departments of public health in the administrative regions.

Article 11 The administrative department of public health under the State Council shall collect and gather the food safety risk monitoring data and analyze the results, and make a circular to the departments of quality supervision and industrial and commercial administration management under the State Council and the state food and drug supervision and administration departments as well as the departments of commerce, industry and information under the State Council.

Article 12 The administrative department of public health under the State Council shall organize food safety risk assessment in the following situations:

(1)    provide scientific basis for formulating or revising the national standards for food safety;

(2)    demand to confirm key fields and varieties of supervision and administration;

(3)    find new factors that possibly hazard to food safety;

(4)    judge whether some factor constitutes potential food safety hazard; and

(5)    other situations confirmed to be conducted risk assessment by the administrative department of public health under the State Council.

Article 13 The relevant departments of agriculture administration, quality supervision and industrial and commercial administration management under the State Council as well as the state food and drug supervision and administration department shall, when putting forward the suggestions of food safety risk assessment to the administrative department of public health under the State Council in accordance with the provisions of Article 15 of the Food Safety Law, provide the following information and data:

(1)    source and nature of risk;

(2)    relevant testing data and conclusion;

(3)    coverage of risk; and

(4)    other relevant information and data.

The relevant departments of agriculture administration, quality supervision, industrial and commercial administration management as well as food and drug supervision and administration at or above the county level shall coordinate with collection of the aforesaid information and data of food safety risk assessment.

Article 14 The administrative departments of public health and agriculture administration departments of the people’s governments at or above the provincial level shall timely make mutual notification of the relevant food safety risk monitoring and edible farm product quality safety risk monitoring information.

The administrative department of public health and agriculture administration department under the State Council shall timely make mutual notification of the relevant information of the food safety risk assessment and the edible farm product quality safety risk assessment results.

Chapter Three  Food Safety Standards

Article 15 The administrative department of public health under the State Council along with the departments of agriculture administration, quality supervision and industrial and commercial administration management under the State Council and the state food and drug supervision and administration department as well as the commerce, industry and information departments under the State Council shall formulate the planning of the national standards for food safety and its implementation plan, which shall solicit opinions from the public.

Article 16 The administrative department of public health under the State Council shall select the units possessed of corresponding technical capacities to draw up the draft of the national standards for food safety, and advocate research institutions, educational institutions, learned societies, industry associations and other units to jointly draw up the draft of the national standards for food safety.

The administrative department of public health under the State Council shall publicize the draft of the national standards for food safety to society and solicit opinions from the public.

Article 17 The national food safety standards evaluation committee prescribed in Article 23 of the Food Safety Law shall be organized by the administrative department of public health under the State Council.

The national food safety standards evaluation committee shall be responsible to review the scientificity and practicability of the draft of the national food safety standards.

Article 18 The administrative departments of public health of the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall notify the enterprise standards that enterprise submits for filing in according with the provisions of Article 25 of the Food Safety Law to the departments at the same level of agriculture administration, quality supervision, industrial and commercial administration management, food and drug supervision and administration, commerce, industry and information.

Article 19 The administrative department of public health under the State Council and the administrative departments of public health of the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall conduct tracking evaluation on the implementation of the national food safety standards and the local food safety standards and organize revision of food safety standards at proper time based on the results of evaluation with the departments at the same level of agriculture administration, quality supervision, industrial and commercial administration management, food and drug supervision and administration, commerce, industry and information.

The departments of agriculture administration, quality supervision, industrial and commercial administration management, food and drug supervision and administration, commerce, industry and information under the State Council and of the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall collect and assemble the problems in the implementation of food safety standards and timely notify to the administrative departments of public health at the same level.

Where any food producer, trader or food industry association finds problems in the implementation of food safety standards, he shall immediately report to the food safety supervision and administration department.

Chapter Four   Food Production or Marketing

Article 20 Any food production enterprise shall check the name of enterprise in advance and handle the industrial and commercial registration after acquiring the food production license in accordance with the Food Safety Law. The quality supervision and administration departments at or above the county level shall, in accordance with relevant laws and administrative regulations, examine and verify related data, check production places and test relevant products. For those enterprises whose relevant data and places satisfy the prescribed requirements and relevant products meet the food safety standards or demands, licensing decision shall be made.

Other food producers and traders shall handle industrial and commercial registration after acquiring corresponding food production, food circulation, and catering service licenses by law. Where laws and regulations make other provisions for food production and processing individual workshops and food vendors, such provisions shall be applied to.

The validity period of food production, food circulation and catering licenses shall be 3 years.

Article 21 Where the production and operation conditions of any food producer or trader change and no longer meet the requirement for food production and operation, the food producer or trader shall immediately take measures of making corrections; where any food producer or trader has the potential risk of food safety accidents, he shall immediately suspend food production or operation activities and report to the department of quality supervision, industrial and commercial administration management or food and drug supervision and administration at the prefecture or county level. Those who need to renew the formalities of licensing shall be handled by law.

The departments of quality supervision, industrial and commercial administration management and food and drug supervision and administration at or above the county level shall strengthen the daily supervision and inspection on the production and operation activities of food producers and traders. Where any situation doesn’t meet the requirement of food production or operation, order shall be given to make corrections and punishments shall be imposed on by law. Those not qualified for the conditions of production and operation license any more shall be revoked relevant licenses by law.

Article 22 Food production and trading enterprises shall, in accordance with Article 32 of the Food Safety Law, organize staff to participate in the training of food safety to learn food safety laws, regulations, rules, standards and other food safety knowledge and establish the training files.

Article 23 The food producers and traders shall, based on Article 34 of the Food Safety Law, establish and implement the employed person physical check-up system and health record system. Where any staff engaging in ready-to-eat foods takes one of diseases hindering food safety including dysentery, typhoid, viral hepatitis type A, viral hepatitis type E and other infectious diseases of digestive tract as well as active tuberculosis, purulent or exudative skin diseases, the food producer or trader shall assign him to the post not affecting food safety.

The food producers and traders shall conduct physical examination in accordance with the provisions of Clause 2 of Article 34 of the Food Safety Law and the issues including physical check-up items shall meet the provisions of the province, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government where they are domiciled.

Article 24 The food production and trading enterprises shall, in accordance with Clause 2 of Article 36, Clause 1 of Article 37 and Clause 2 of Article 39 of the Food Safety Law, set up the raw materials purchase check record system and the food ex-factory check record system to faithfully record the issues prescribed in the Food Safety Law or keep purchase or sale receipts with related information. The retention period of records and receipts shall be no less than 2 years.

Article 25 The group food production enterprises conducting centralized and unified purchase of raw materials shall render the headquarters of them to conduct unified examination and check on the licenses and qualification certification documents of products of suppliers, and do the record of raw materials purchase check. The food raw materials failing to provide qualification certification documents shall be examined and checked according to the food safety standards.

Article 26 The food production enterprises shall and implement the food safety administration system of raw materials procurement verification, safety management in production, storage management, equipment management and non-conforming products management and constantly perfect the food safety system to ensure food safety.

Article 27 The food production enterprises shall, to ensure the ex-factory foods meet food safety standards, formulate and implement the control requirement for the following items:

(1)    control of raw materials purchase, verification and batch charging;

(2)    control of key production links including production process, equipment, storage and package;

(3)    control of inspection on raw materials, semi-finished products and finished products; and

(4)    control of transportation and delivery.

Where any situation fails to meet the requirement of control in the food production, the food production enterprises shall immediately find out the cause and adopt measures to make corrections.

Article 28 The food production enterprises shall also faithfully record the safety management in the food production apart from conducting the raw materials purchase check record and the food ex-factory check record in accordance with Article 36 and 37 of the Food Safety Law. The retention period of records shall be no less than 2 years.

Article 29 The enterprises running food wholesale business shall faithfully record such content as the names, sizes, quantity, production batch, and guarantee period of wholesale foods, names or titles of purchasers and contact ways, and sales dates, or keep the sales receipts with relevant information while selling foods. The retention period of records and receipts shall be no less than 2 years.

Article 30 The state encourages the food producers and traders to adopt advanced technical means to record the items prescribed in the Food Safety Law and the Regulation herein.

Article 31 The catering service providers shall formulate and implement the demand for raw materials purchase control to ensure the purchased raw materials reach the food safety standards.

The catering service providers shall examine the foods and raw materials to be processed in the production, and shall not process or use those of spoilage or other unusual sensory properties.

Article 32 The catering service enterprises shall regularly maintain the facilities and equipment of food processing, storage and display, and clean, adjust and test heat preservation facilities as well as cold store and refrigeration facilities.

The catering service providers shall, in accordance with requirements, rinse and sterilize tableware and kitchenware and shall not use the tableware and kitchenware without being cleaned and sterilized.

Article 33 For the foods recalled in accordance with Article 35 of the Food Safety Law, the food producers shall conduct innocent treatment or destruction to prevent them from flowing into market again. For the foods recalled for labels, marks or specifications fail to meet the food safety standards, the food producers shall continuously sell them under the circumstances where the remedial measures are adopted and food safety can be guaranteed, but the remedial measures shall be shown to consumers while selling.

The departments of quality supervision, industrial and commercial administration management and food and drug supervision and administration at or above the county level shall record the situations where the food producers recall the foods failing to meet the food safety standards and the food traders suspend selling the foods failing to meet the food safety standards into the food safety credit files of the food producers and traders.

Chapter Five  Food Test

Article 34 The applicants shall give reasons for application of recheck to the food inspection institutions conducting recheck (hereinafter referred to as recheck institutions) in accordance with Clause 3 of Article 60 of the Food Safety Law.

The directory of the recheck institutions shall be publicized jointly by the departments of certification and accreditation supervision and administration, sanitary administration and agriculture administration under the State Council. The recheck conclusion issued by the recheck institutions shall be the final one.

The recheck institution shall be selected by the recheck applicant himself. The recheck institution and the initial check institution shall not be the same one.

Article 35 Where any food producer or trader holds the different opinion on the conclusion of sampling inspection conducted according to Article 60 of the Food Safety Law and files an application, and if the recheck conclusion indicates that the foods are qualified, the recheck fees shall be paid by the sampling inspection department; if not, vise versa.

Chapter Six  Food Import and Export

Article 36 The food importer shall hold necessary vouchers including contract, invoice, packing list and bill of loading as well as relevant approval documents to apply for quarantine inspection to the entry and exit inspection and quarantine bureau in the place where the customs declaration is made. Imported foods shall be up to the standards through the entry and exit inspection and quarantine bureau. The customs shall let them pass based on the clearance certification issued by the entry and exit inspection and quarantine bureau.

Article 37 The food import, importing the foods without the national food safety standards or for the first time importing new food additive varieties and new varieties of products related to foods, shall submit the licensing certification documents prescribed in Article 63 of the Food Safety Law to the entry and exit inspection and quarantine bureau, which shall conduct inspection and quarantine according to the requirement of the administrative department of public health under the State Council.

Article 38 The state entry and exit inspection and quarantine bureau shall, in accordance with Article 12 of the Food Safety Law, report to the administrative department of public health under the State Council while finding the materials the national food safety standards hasn’t provided for and are likely to hazard to people’s health.

Article 39 The outbound food production enterprise exporting foods to China shall conduct registration in accordance with Article 65 of the Food Safety Law, with the validity period of registration being 4 years. For those registered outbound food production enterprises which offer fake materials or major food safety accidents occur to related imported foods caused by the outbound food production enterprises, the state entry and exit inspection and quarantine bureau shall revoke their registration and make publication.

Article 40 The imported food additives shall contain Chinese labels and specifications, which shall reach the provisions of the Food Safety Law and other Chinese relevant laws and administrative regulations as well as the national food safety standards and state clearly the place of origin of food additives and names, addresses and contact ways of inbound agents. The food additives shall not be imported without Chinese labels, and specifications or with Chinese labels and specifications failing to meet the provisions herein.

Article 41 The entry and exit inspection and quarantine bureau shall, in accordance with Article 62 of the Food Safety Law, conduct inspection on imported foods and supervision and random inspection on imported foods according to Article 68 of the Food Safety Law, with the concrete measures formulated by the state entry and exit inspection and quarantine bureau.

Article 42 The state entry and exit inspection and quarantine bureau shall set up the information gathering network and in accordance with Article 69 of the Food Safety Law, collect, integrate and notify the following information:

(1)    the food safety information discovered by the entry and exit inspection and quarantine bureau in the imported and exported foods;

(2)    the imported food safety information reflected by industry association or consumer;

(3)    food safety information and risk pre-warning issued by international organization or outbound governmental agency as well as food safety information reflected by outbound industry association or consumer; and

(4)    other food safety information.

The departments that have received the circular shall, when necessary, adopt corresponding treatment measures.

The food safety supervision and administration department shall timely notify the informed information involving imported and exported food safety to the state entry and exit inspection and quarantine bureau.

Chapter Seven  Handling of Food Safety Accidents

Article 43 The units where food safety accidents have occurred shall immediately take control measures including sealing up for safekeeping on foods, raw materials, tools and devices that have caused or may cause food safety accidents and report to the administrative departments of public health of the people’s governments at or above the county level where they are domiciled within 2 hours as of the occurrence of accidents.

Article 44 The investigation of food safety accident shall adhere to the principle of seeking truth from facts and respecting for science, timely and accurately find out the nature and cause of accident, affirm accident liability and put forward the measures to make corrections.

The departments participating in the investigation of food safety accidents shall cooperate based on division of labor and synergy under the unified organization and coordination of the administrative department of public health in a bid to raise the work efficiency of accident investigation and handling.

The measures for investigation and handling of food safety accident shall be formulated by the administrative department of public health under the State Council jointly with other State Council relevant departments.

Article 45 The departments participating in the food safety investigation shall have the right to know about the information related to accident from relevant units and individuals and require them to provide interrelated data and samples.

Relevant units and individuals shall coordinate with the investigation and handling of food safety accident, and not refuse to provide interrelated data and samples on request.

Article 46 Any unit or individual shall not thwart and intervene with the investigation and handling of food safety accident.

Chapter Eight  Supervision and Administration

Article 47 The annual plan for food safety supervision and administration formulated by the local people’s government at or above the county level in accordance with Article 76 of the Food Safety Law shall include food sampling inspection. Main and secondary foods especially for particular population including infants, the elderly and patients shall strengthen sampling inspection.

The departments of agriculture administration, quality supervision, industrial and commercial administration management and food and drug supervision and administration at or above the county level shall conduct sampling inspection based on the annual plan for food safety supervision and administration. The fees of sampling inspection for sample purchase and inspection shall be paid by the finance at the same level.

Article 48 The people’s government at the county level shall uniformly organize and coordinate the departments of heath administration, agriculture administration, quality supervision, industrial and commercial administration management and food and drug supervision and administration to carry out supervision and administration on food producers and traders in the administrative regions by law, and pay more attention to the supervision and administration on the food producers and traders with relatively high accident risk of food safety.

After the administrative department of public health under the State Council has released the food safety risk warning information or received the food safety risk monitoring information notified by the administrative departments of public health of the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government in accordance with Article 10 of the Regulation herein, the people’s governments at the prefecture and county level shall immediately organize the departments of health administration, agriculture administration, quality supervision, industrial and commercial administration management and food and drug supervision and administration at the same level to take the pointed measures to prevent food safety accident from happening.

Article 49 The administrative department of public health under the State Council shall, in accordance with disease information and supervision and administration information, publicize the directory and inspection methods of and for chemicals not for food use found to have been added or that may be added to foods as well as other substances that may harm people’s health. And the departments of quality supervision and industrial and commercial administration management under the State Council as well as the state food and drug supervision and administration department shall adopt corresponding measures of supervision and administration.

Article 50 The departments of quality supervision, industrial and commercial administration management and food and drug supervision and administration may, in the food safety supervision and administration, adopt the fast inspection method affirmed by the departments of quality supervision and industrial and commercial administration management under the State Council as well as the state food and drug supervision and administration department to conduct the preliminary screening. The foods that may fail to meet the food safety standards based on the preliminary screening results shall be inspected according to Clause 3 of Article 60 of the Food Safety Law. The preliminary screening results shall not be taken as the basis of law enforcement.

Article 51 The daily food safety supervision and administration information prescribed in Clause 2 of Article 82 of the Food Safety Law includes:

(1)    situations where administrative licensing is conducted in accordance with the Food Safety Law;

(2)    the directory of foods, food additives and products related to foods that are ordered to suspend production and operation;

(3)    situations where illegal food production and operation is investigated and punished;

(4)    situations where special inspection and rectification is conducted; and

(5)    other daily food safety supervision and administration information prescribed in laws and administrative regulations.

Where the above-mentioned information involves the duties of two or above food safety supervision and administration departments, it shall be jointly issued by interrelated departments.

Article 52 The food safety supervision and administration department shall make interpretations and explanations of the possible hazards of relevant foods while releasing information in accordance with Article 82 of the Food Safety Law.

Article 53 The departments of health administration, agriculture administration, quality supervision, industrial and commercial administration management and food and drug supervision and administration shall publicize the E-mail addresses or telephones to receive consultations, complaints and reports, in accordance with Article 80 of the Food Safety Law, reply to, verify and handle the received consultations, complaints and reports, and record and keep them.

Article 54 The departments of industry and information and commerce under the State Council shall, based on duties, formulate the development planning and industrial policies for the food industry, take steps to boost the optimization of industrial structure, strengthen the guidance of the construction of honesty-credit system in the food industry and promote the sound development of the food industry.

Chapter Nine  Legal Liability

Article 55 Where the production and trading conditions of the food producers and traders have changed and failed to be handled according to Article 21 of the Regulations herein, the relevant competent departments shall order them to make corrections and impose warning on them. If serious consequences are caused, penalty shall be imposed in accordance with Article 85 of the Food Safety Law.

Article 56 Where the catering service provider formulates and implements the raw materials purchase control failing to comply with Clause 1 of Article 31 of the Regulation herein, penalty shall be imposed in accordance with Article 86 of the Food Safety Law.

Where the catering service provider inspects the foods and raw materials to be processed or still process and use the foods discovered to have gone bad or other unusual sensory properties failing to comply with Clause 2 of Article 31 of the Regulation herein, penalty shall be imposed in accordance with Article 85 of the Food Safety Law.

Article 57 Penalty shall, in accordance with Article 87 of the Food Safety Law, be imposed in the following situations:

(1)    where the food production enterprise fails to comply with Article 26 of the Regulation herein to set up and implement the food safety management system;

(2)    where the food production enterprise fails to comply with Article 27 of the Regulation herein to formulate and implement the production process control or there are situations that don’t meet the requirement of control in the food production and rectification measures are adopted without complying with provisions;

(3)    where the food production enterprise fails to comply with Article 28 of the Regulation herein to record safety management in the food production and keep relevant records;

(4)    where the trading enterprise engaging in food wholesale fails to comply with Article 29 of the Regulation herein to record and keep sales information or reserve sales receipts;

(5)    where the catering service enterprise fails to comply with Clause 1 of Article 32 of the Regulation herein to regularly maintain, rinse and adjust and test facilities and devices; and

(6)    where the catering service provider fails to comply with Clause 2 of Article 32 of the Regulation herein to rinse and sterilize tableware and kitchenware or use them without rinsing and sterilizing.

Article 58 Where food additives are imported without complying with Article 40 of the Regulation herein, they shall be confiscated by the entry and exit inspection and quarantine bureau. Where the goods value of illegally imported food additives is no less than RMB10,000, fine of more than RMB2000 and less than RMB50,000 shall be imposed. Where the goods value is more than RMB10,000, fine of more than twice and less than five times of the goods value shall be imposed.

Article 59 Where the medical institution fails to comply with Article 8 of the Regulation herein to report relevant diseases information, the administrative department of public health shall order it to make corrections and a warning shall be given.

Article 60 Where the unit in which food safety accident occurs fails to comply with Article 43 of the Regulation herein to adopt measures and report, in accordance with Article 88 of the Food Safety Law, penalty shall be imposed.

Article 61 Where the local people’s government at or above the county level fails to perform the legal duty of food safety supervision and administration so that in the administrative region occurs major food safety accident, which has caused serious social effect, such punishments as recording a serious demerit, degrading, dismissing or expelling shall be imposed on directly responsible persons-in-charge and other directly responsible persons by law.

Where the departments at or above the county level of health administration, agriculture administration, quality supervision, industrial and commercial administration management and food and drug supervision and administration or other relevant administrative departments fail to perform the legal duty of food safety supervision and administration, lack daily supervision and inspection or abuse authority, neglect their duties and play favouritism and commit irregularities, the punishment of recording a serious demerit or degrading shall be imposed on directly responsible persons-in-charge and other directly responsible persons by law; if serious consequences are caused, the punishment of dismissing or expelling shall be given, and the main responsible person shall take the blame and resign.

Chapter Ten  Supplementary Provisions

Article 62 The denotation of the following terms of the Regulation herein:

Food safety risk assessment refers to the scientific evaluation of possible detrimental effects on people’s health caused by biological, chemical and physical hazards in the foods and food additives, including hazards identification, depiction of hazards features, exposure assessment and depiction of risk features.

The catering service refers to the service activities of providing foods and consumption place and facilities for consumers through instant processing, commercial sales and service labor.

Article 63 The edible farm product quality safety risk monitoring and risk assessment shall be conducted by the agriculture administration of the people’s government at or above the county level in accordance with the Law on Agricultural Product’s Quality Safety of the People’s Republic of China.

The supervision and administration on foods at frontier ports shall be implemented by the entry and exit inspection and quarantine bureau in accordance with the Food Safety Law and the Regulation herein as well as relevant laws and administrative regulations.

The food and drug supervision and administration department shall conduct strict supervision and administration on the foods that have been claimed to have particular health care function, with the specific measures separately formulated by the State Council.

Article 64 The Regulation herein shall enter into effect as of the date of its promulgation.

 
 
 
  The State Council of the People’s Republic of China 2009-07-20