Barriers to Sustainable Food Trade: China’s Exports Food Rejected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 2011–2017
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Data Source
2.2. Method
3. Results and Discussions
3.1. Spatial Distribution
3.1.1. Export Provinces of China
3.1.2. Jurisdiction Area of the U.S. FDA
3.2. Refused Food Categories
3.3. Food Safety Factors of Rejection
4. Discussions
- (1)
- The understanding of US food safety standards by Chinese food export enterprises is insufficient. Many of the Chinese food export enterprises did not fully and duly understand the U.S. laws and regulations, standards, or detailed processes of imported food.
- (2)
- The quality/safety assurance ability of Chinese food export enterprises is insufficient [21]. Some corporate-level limitations such as financial stress, poor production and processing technology, imperfect inspection and inspection technology, poor hygienic environment, backward equipment and lack of related talents on food safety, etc., may lead to less qualified export food.
- (3)
- Inadequate government supervision of food safety. On the one hand, there are still many loopholes in China’s current export food safety law and regulation system such as: lack of systematization and coordination, and inadequacy of crime deterrent punishment. On the other hand, the food safety regulation system has been segmented before 2013, causing regulatory overlap, vulnerability, and vagueness of the responsibilities in the supervised items of foods.
- (4)
- The food standard system in China is not perfect. Firstly, the overall level of food standards is relatively low and the coverage is narrow. Secondly, the unity and the coordination of the standard is relatively poor, so there are some problems with the standards, such as duplication, overlapping, contradiction and so on. Thirdly, the food safety standard formulation is time-consuming, and the update and upgrade speed is slow.
- (1)
- The food laws and regulations of the United States are becoming more strict. The U.S. has an efficient legal system of food safety and the seamless supervision of food supply chain from farmland to dining table. The U.S. has formulated and revised at least 30 laws and regulations to safeguard their own domestic food safety since the promulgation of the “Food and Drug Law” and “Meat Inspection Act” in 1906 and 1907. There are seven laws directly related to food safety and also the core of food safety law of America: “Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act”, “Public Health Service Act”, “Federal Meat Inspection Act”, “Federal Poultry Products Inspection Act”, “Federal Egg Products Inspection Act”, “Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act”, and “Food Quality Protection Act”.
- (2)
- The food standard system of the United States is becoming more and more stringent. “Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act” and relevant laws stipulate that all imported foods must meet the same standard in the United States. The food standards in the U.S. are divided into national standard, industry standard, and enterprise standard. In general, the food safety standards of the U.S. has wide coverage, detailed scope, short cycle of renewal, and very close combination with technical regulations.
5. Conclusions
- Sustainable food system involves concerns in both economic and environmental dimensions [22]. China should further improve its food safety laws, regulations, and standard system, in order to match and work well with its partner countries for international trade (e.g., [23]). On the one hand, the advanced experiences of the United States are worth learning and combining with the national conditions of China. On the basis of the newly revised Food safety law of the People’s Republic of China, formulating special laws for various classifications of food is necessary. Furthermore, Chinese food export enterprises should be supervised according to classification. Among the Chinese export food rejected by the U.S. FDA, there are differences in different types of food in terms of rejection frequency, export provinces, and degree of food risk. Faced with the contradiction between limited regulatory resources and large regulatory objects, we suggest that the relevant regulatory departments should determine the priority of regulation object and allocate regulatory resources effectively. It can improve the accuracy of supervision by setting reasonable regulatory focus and regulation frequency of food export enterprises to different industries and different regions.
- Specific laws and regulations system for better governance of the whole food supply chain system is even more critical. Institutions should integrate the existing legal resources, clarify the responsibilities of the legal subjects and increase the punishment for the illegal and criminal behavior of food safety. On the other hand, China should keep track with the food safety standards of developed countries, increase the standard adoption ratio and shorten the standard update cycle. China also should make a thorough investigation of the lagging and missing standards, then formulate a reasonable repair plan and establish a unified standard system as soon as possible. The quality and safety standards and requirements for imported food should be thoroughly understood by Chinese food export enterprises. A large part of China’s export food rejected by the U.S. FDA is due to the facts that Chinese food safety standards were not in line with international standards or Chinese food export enterprises did not make a timely adjustment when the food safety standards of the importers were changed. This requires that exporters should make a detailed and careful study of the laws, regulations, food safety standards and other requirements of importers in order to avoid the risk of food export as much as possible.
- Risk analysis for sound food safety supervision should be strengthened. Risk analysis system is one of the effective governance methods to formulate scientific food safety regulatory measures as it can help improve the safety of food supply chain and reduce the incidence of foodborne disease. Most developed countries have established a perfect food safety risk analysis system. In order to meet the requirements of quality and safety of imported food in developed countries, China should develop more scientific and systematic risk identification, risk management, and risk communication activities of food safety. Specifically, information asymmetry and incomplete early-warning systems restrict the export of Chinese food. So it is necessary to establish and improve China’s export food information network communication platform. We can make efforts to minimize the safety risk of export food by collecting, evaluating, publishing, tracking, and feedback on export food safety information.
Author Contributions
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
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Categories | Classification |
---|---|
Time frame | February 2011–July2017 |
Export provinces of China | 23 provinces, 4 province-level municipalities, 5 autonomous regions and 2 special administrative regions in China |
Jurisdiction area of the U.S FDA | New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Baltimore, New Orleans, Atlanta, Detroit, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Cincinnati and other cities |
Food categories | Fruits and vegetables, Fishery and seafood products, Bakery products, Grain and grain products, Flavorings, Candy/sweeteners/cocoa/chocolate/chocolate products, Frozen drinks/beverages/ liquor, Meat and meat products, Milk and dairy products and other |
Reason for rejection | The food contained filth, decay, decomposition or other substances; The food contained toxic and harmful substances; The food contained agricultural and veterinary drugs; the food contained unsafe additives; Food label problems; Unfiled production and processing technology; Not providing information in accordance with the provisions; Unregistered; Hygienic problem; Bacteria exceed thresholds; Food adulteration; The food contained antibiotic; Other |
Classification | Subdivision | Food with the Highest Refusal Frequency | Origins/Provinces | Jurisdiction Area of FDA |
---|---|---|---|---|
Fruits and vegetables (1429(35.3%)) | Vegetables(497) | Spinach and its products(72), Agaric(58), Pepper and its products(55), Bamboo shoots(32), Leaf mustard(29), Radish and its products(29) | Shandong(109) Guangdong(106) Fujian(56) | New York(243) Los Angeles(115) |
Fruits(399) | Jujube and its products(92), Oranges(31), Pear(31), Raisins(27), Strawberry and its products(27) | Guangdong(124) Shandong(65) Hebei(49) | New York(185) Los Angeles(77) San Francisco(47) | |
Edible fungi(388) | Mushrooms and its products(311) | Fujian(106) Zhejiang(66) Guangdong(50) | New York(170) Los Angeles(65) | |
Bean products(101) | —— | Guangdong(39) | New York(73) | |
Nuts and seeds(44) | Peanuts(21) | —— | New York(32) | |
Fishery and seafood products (1161(28.7%)) | Fresh aquatic products(592) | Tilapia(131), Shrimp(81), Squid(64), Pectinid(45), Yellow croaker(28), Catfish(28) | Guangdong(128) Liaoning(102) Shandong(88) | New York(159) Los Angeles(129) |
Frozen aquatic products(347) | Frozen tilapia (film)(66),Frozen Punetaus (film)(39), Frozen bread shrimp(22) | Guangdong(78) Liaoning(62) Fujian(53) | Los Angeles(99) New York(74) | |
Pre & cooked aquatic products(135) | (Imitation) crab meat and its products(27) | Guangdong(42) | New York(56) | |
Canned aquatic products(30) | Mackerel can(12) | Shandong(17) | —— | |
Other aquatic products(57) | —— | —— | —— | |
Bakery products (398(9.8%)) | Bread(26) | —— | Guangdong(14) | New York(25) |
Pastry(60) | Cake(31) | Guangdong(45) | New York(55) | |
Biscuits(277) | —— | Guangdong(207) | New York(240) | |
Other bakery products(35) | —— | —— | —— | |
Grain and grain products (301(7.4%)) | —— | Noodles(57), Rice flour(40) | Guangdong(102) | New York(205) |
Origins/Provinces | Classification | Subdivision | Food with the Highest Refusal Frequency |
---|---|---|---|
Guangdong (1253(31%) | 1. Fruits and vegetables (including beans, edible fungi, algae, nuts and seeds)(329) | Fruits(124) | Jujube and its products(34), Plums and products(13), Oranges and products(10) |
Vegetables(106) | Agaricand products(20) | ||
Edible fungi(50) | Mushrooms and its products(43) | ||
Bean products(39) | Tofu and related products(28) | ||
Nuts and seeds(10) | —— | ||
2. Bakery products(285) | —— | Biscuits(207) | |
3.Fishery and seafood products(266) | Fresh aquatic products(128) | Tilapia(50), Shrimp(29) | |
Frozen aquatic products(78) | Frozen tilapia (film)(33) | ||
Pre & cooked aquatic products(42) | —— | ||
Canned aquatic products(2) | —— | ||
Other aquatic products(16) | —— | ||
Fujian 520 (12.8%) | 1. Fruits and vegetables (including beans, edible fungi, algae, nuts and seeds)(212) | Edible fungi(106) | Mushrooms and its products(86) |
Vegetables(56) | —— | ||
Fruits(26) | —— | ||
Bean products(17) | Tofu and related products(10) | ||
Nuts and seeds(7) | —— | ||
2. Fishery and seafood products(142) | Frozen aquatic products(53) | Frozen tilapia (film)(10), Frozen Eel(10) | |
Fresh aquatic products(50) | Yellow croaker(14) | ||
Pre & cooked aquatic products(17) | —— | ||
Canned aquatic products(8) | —— | ||
Other aquatic products(14) | —— | ||
3. Grain and grain products(55) | —— | Rice flour(19), Noodles(16), | |
Shandong 508 (12.6%) | 1. Fruits and vegetables (including beans, edible fungi, algae, nuts and seeds)(223) | Vegetables(109) | Spinach and its products(37), Ginger and its products(19), Pepper and its products(18) |
Fruits(65) | Strawberry and its products(21) | ||
Edible fungi(36) | —— | ||
Bean products(6) | —— | ||
Nuts and seeds(6) | —— | ||
2. Fishery and seafood products(179) | Fresh aquatic products(88) | Squid(29) | |
Frozen aquatic products(45) | —— | ||
Pre & cooked aquatic products(27) | (Imitation) crab meat and its products(9) | ||
Canned aquatic products(17) | —— | ||
Other aquatic products(2) | —— |
The Food Contained Filth, Decay, Decomposition or Other Substances (1117(27.6%)) | The Food Contained Toxic and Harmful Substances (1097(27.1%)) | The Food Contained Agricultural and Veterinary Drugs (826(20.4%)) | The Food Contained Unsafe Additives (563(13.9%)) | Food Label Problems (523(12.9%)) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Suspected Melamine (454) | Chemical Insecticides (178) | Lead (11) | other (454) | |||||
Fruits and vegetables | 455 (Edible fungi 188, Vegetables 110) | 7 | 144 (Vegetables 64) | 11 | 37 | 312 (Edible fungi 109, Vegetables 103, Fruits 95) | 200 (Fruits 155) | 145 (Vegetables 75) |
Fishery and seafood products | 491 (Fresh aquatic products 267, Frozen aquatic and products 163) | —— | 1 | —— | 25 | 378 (Fresh aquatic products 235) | 166 (Frozen aquatic and products 74, Fresh aquatic products 48) | 55 |
Bakery Products | 10 | 267 (biscuits 193) | 7 | —— | 206 (biscuits 155) | —— | 38 | 59 |
Grain and grain products | 84 | 84 | 3 | —— | 56 | 23 | 31 | 59 |
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Wen, X.; Yang, Z.; Dong, H.; Fan, X.; Wang, Y. Barriers to Sustainable Food Trade: China’s Exports Food Rejected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 2011–2017. Sustainability 2018, 10, 1712. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10061712
Wen X, Yang Z, Dong H, Fan X, Wang Y. Barriers to Sustainable Food Trade: China’s Exports Food Rejected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 2011–2017. Sustainability. 2018; 10(6):1712. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10061712
Chicago/Turabian StyleWen, Xiaowei, Zhaohui Yang, Hui Dong, Xinqiang Fan, and Yong Wang. 2018. "Barriers to Sustainable Food Trade: China’s Exports Food Rejected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 2011–2017" Sustainability 10, no. 6: 1712. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10061712