The United States and China issued a joint progress statement last week that described the measures both have recently taken to improve the safety of international food and feed imports.
The safety of a variety of products and substances imported from China have been in the news, ranging from pet food, to toothpaste, to toys, to pharmaceutical ingredients. MassTortDefense has posted on this here and here.

According to the statement, both countries have improved the exchange of information on food safety and on the relevant regulatory systems. The U.S. has agreed to conduct training for Chinese officials on U.S. regulatory standards. Each has designated new emergency contacts and notification thresholds for import safety issues. The two countries have also been working towards an electronic certification system between the FDA and China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine to ensure that Chinese exports meet FDA standards for safety and manufacturing quality. The countries also agreed to increase their focus on inspection, supervision and laboratory testing of Chinese imports.

The document outlines steps taken by both nations in implementing the 2007 Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on food and feed safety. The MOA established a bilateral mechanism to provide greater information and other assurances to enhance the safety of food and feed products traded between the two countries.

Finally, the report described the establishment of a cooperative mechanism to notify each other of significant risks to public health related to product safety or the gross deception of consumers, and to share information to facilitate each other’s investigation.

The report comes as Senator Sherrod Brown (D.-Ohio), in a letter to the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation & Research, called on the agency to investigate outsourcing of drug ingredients, and just as China has granted diplomatic approval for the FDA to open three inspections offices in China that also will help increase China’s ability to ensure delivery of safe foods, drugs and other products. The FDA reportedly hopes to open the offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou before the end of this year, with a total staff of around 12 people.