Thursday, December 13, 2007

China Grants U.S. Expanded Role in Inspecting Foods

China Grants U.S. Expanded Role in Inspecting Foods
(International Herald Tribune)

China and the United States, seeking to ease the furor over the safety of food exports, signed an agreement Tuesday calling for a greater U.S. role in certifying and inspecting Chinese food exports, including an increased presence of American officials at Chinese production plants.

The accord, part of several aimed at easing economic tensions with China on a number of divisive subjects, would impose new registration and inspection requirements on Chinese food exporters for 10 specific products. The U.S. government would maintain a public list of the exporters' records.

Michael Leavitt, secretary of health and human services, said he expected that U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials would eventually be embedded in China's food safety bureaucracy to help train Chinese officials and keep records on their inspections. He offered no numbers on how many officials would be involved, however. …

Complete article at http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/11/business/trade.php

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