Foreign buyers, reluctant to take risks, are sending large quantities of food samples to international testing specialists such as Eurofins Scientific or SGS Group. Japan, own systems The industry officials said Japan, which accounts for about a quarter of China’s farm product exports, had also recommended importers check for melamine in Chinese products, such as rice flour or wheat gluten, for use in animal feed. “The safety tests for raw materials are likely to get tougher,” said a senior official from a Japanese food processing plant in China. “Eventually they could demand traceability similar to that for non-GMO products ... which would raise costs. Given higher costs and credibility, there’s a question if you would still want to buy raw materials from China.” A year ago Japan tightened safety checks on farm products from China, which has angered Beijing. The new rules require checks for nearly 300 pesticides and chemicals residues at loading ports as well as at discharging ports. Asked how to guarantee the quality of food imported from China, an official in charge of food safety at one of Hong Kong’s largest food retailers said: “It’s very important to get system in place for traceability all the way back in the supply chain. “When you have traceability, you can then have accountability. I think this is what China lacks.”
If every batch has to be inspected for every chemical under the sun (as opposed to random tests for a small number of chemicals), the day of large-scale Chinese food exports is done - for cost reasons. They can't say they did not have it coming.
For once we agree :-)
Cheers!