Since the agency and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine of China (AQSIQ) began cooperating on food safety, FDA has achieved: Increased inspections of Chinese food facilities; enhanced cooperation on high-risk foods; enhanced collaboration with Chinese food-safety authorities; joint outreach on the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA); and confidence-building in laboratory work.
The renewed agreement includes:
• Enhancement of FDA’s ability to identify high-risk food products entering the U.S. from China;
• Collaboration to facilitate inspections of facilities that process and produce food;
• A focus on high-risk foods frequently exported from China to the United States, including canned and acidified foods, pet food and aquaculture; and
• The creation of processes for FDA to accept relevant, verified information from AQSIQ regarding registration and certification.
After the U.S. and China signed the original agreement in 2008, FDA opened offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The move strengthened relations between the FDA and Chinese food safety authorities, and enabled FDA to perform inspections, conduct outreach to Chinese industry stakeholders regarding FDA requirements and monitor trends and events that affect the safety of food products exported from China to the U.S., according to the agency.
