Food Safety in China – Challenges and the Future

Herbert Stone

The Chinese food industry is large and has experienced significant growth domestically and globally. Over the past 15 years this writer has visited numerous companies, universities, government agencies, supermarkets and local shops to gain an appreciation for the kinds of products available, observing production and gaining an appreciation for the complexities of the industry. Meetings with executives of companies  with serious food safety issues have provided an additional perspective on what is happening in the industry and how these executives respond to these problems. As already mentioned, the sheer size of the industry and its growth presents its own set of problems. What is surprising is that this growth has occurred with minimal technological input.  In the past it was unusual to meet a professionally trained food scientist at these companies and especially at the SMEs. That safety problems have occurred is not unexpected given this situation.  It is even more serious when consumers become ill and have died. The Government must then initiate major steps to correct the problem.  A longer term problem is the loss of consumer confidence in that brand and other brands in that food category they believe are not safe. Consumers will switch to other products and regaining a market share is very difficult and very costly. Regulations may be changed and often are not in the best interests of the companies. What makes food safety so critical is that there are thousands of companies and the potential for thousands of problems.  

One response of the government has been to make major investments in analytical instruments and construct laboratories at universities and at provincial centers.  The private sector also has responded with the establishment of companies providing a wide range of safety services from audits to training to certified analyses. Ultimately all these investments will yield results.  

However, these problems can occur time and again without a significant investment in intellectual effort; i.e. people and specifically food scientists. These are the professionals with the training and the knowledge about monitoring the quality of ingredients, good handling practices and so forth. If raw materials arrive at a factory and no determination is made as to its safety and its quality, and is accepted and used, the responsibility rests with the company, not the supplier. On several occasions I have made note of this only to hear that “it was not our fault”. This latter situation reflects a lack of food science knowledge and having procedures in place to ensure that contaminated raw materials do not enter a factory.

Before moving on to what is now happening, it should be noted that many companies have experienced safety issues and recalls. It reflects the nature of handling various crops and other raw materials used in the processing of foods. In the United States of America all companies have developed a strict protocol for dealing with safety and recalls.   Selected staff and employees are trained and on call 24/7. Companies have learned that failure to respond quickly is costly not only in terms of reputation but also in terms of fines and in some instances, imprisonment. The Government has established programs such as GMP, HACCP and is in the process of developing a Traceability Program to identify a source of a contamination beginning with the field in which the specific food was grown. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is in the process of being implemented; however, full utilisation will likely take a few more years.  All this is possible when there are food scientists, food chemists, food microbiologists and food engineers available at company factories. The overall intent is to reduce food safety issues to zero or as close as is possible. Of course these investments are large but less costly than a recall and/or the death of some consumers. 

It should be noted that the programs identified in the previous section reflect US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) thinking. These, however, are not unique, other countries and regional groups have their own sets of rules and regulations. It will take effort on the part of the industry to decide how best to implement them relative to the markets they serve.  

One advantage that China’s food industry has is the ability to learn from these situations and not take a defensive position or one that seeks to deny a problem when it occurs.   However, one disadvantage in all of this is the lack of qualified food scientists in most companies. Until the past few years, it was unusual to meet a food scientist at most companies; most executives had no prior familiarity with the food industry and seemed uninterested in the need for them.  In more recent times this has changed among the larger corporations marketing their products globally. One can meet food scientists at meetings and at their companies where the technology is understood and there are major investments in food safety.

So China’s food industry needs to address food safety before it becomes a company failure. A first step is to invest in food science, hiring technically trained individuals and providing them with the resources to make the raw materials safe, manage the process and insure that what leaves the factory is safe. The industry must take the initiative with support from suppliers and where necessary, government agencies. To have government involved may take longer than expected and not specific to one’s process and products.

Finally, companies have to undertake a massive consumer education program.  Such an effort must be preceded by clear evidence that food safety is a primary program at their respective company. Only then can they expect to compete more effectively with the multi-national companies now operating in China markets.

Dr Herbert Stone is a Co-Founder (1974) and Past President of Tragon Corporation, a Fellow (1984-) and Past President (2004-05) of the [US] Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and a co-founder of the IFT Sensory and Consumer Sciences Division, was awarded the Calvert L Willey Distinguished Service Award for meritorious service to IFT, and the IFT Sensory and Consumer Sciences Award in 2014; he is a Fellow of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology (IAFoST), Scientific Editor of the Journal of Food Science, and continues to spearhead efforts to maintain a close relationship between IFT and the Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology (CIFST); e-mail: hmstone@gmail.com