On June 16, 2013, the Opinions on Further Strengthening the Quality Safety of Infant Milk Formula Products (the “Opinions”) were jointly issued by the China Food and Drug Administration, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Commerce, the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the General Administration of Customs, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.
The Opinions aim at improving the quality of infant milk formula products through a more strict supervision scheme. According to the Opinions, infant milk formula products are to be administered in strict accordance with the administrative measures for drugs. The Good Manufacturing Practices for Powdered Milk Formula for Infants and Young Children (GB23790-2010) shall be comprehensively implemented.
Secondly, the enterprises involved are required to take primary responsibility:
- infant milk formula producers must have their own milk sources, which ensures the quality of the raw materials and ingredients;
- exporters or their agencies responsible for the export of infant milk formula products to China shall be recorded accordingly at Chinese customs or relevant quality control departments;
- Importers must ensure theformula is compliant with the applicable national standards. Moreover, they are required toprovide a quality exam report of the imported infant milk formula products and keep their import and sale activities on the record.
Finally, relevant authorities should strengthen their supervision over the producing enterprises, the import procedures and the qualification of the infant milk formula product suppliers.
Consumers and the media are supported to assist in the quality supervision.
