China: Food safety improvements underway

In the 1990s, China emerged as a low-cost exporter of food products such as vegetables, apples, seafood and poultry. But in recent years, China's exports slowed when shipments were rejected for failing to meet stringent standards in Japan, Europe and other countries. In 2005, officials announced plans to update the 1995 Food Hygiene Law covering consumer food products. In 2006, the Chinese legislature adopted a law that establishes a national framework for building a system that aims to ensure the safety and monitoring of agricultural products. Certain processed agricultural exports - including canned food, some seafood, meat, frozen vegetables and fruit and vegetable juices - must be produced using HACCP-type systems.