Regulatory Review: The latest in food and supplement laws in China, New Zealand and India
Sampling and on-site inspection of infant formula powder pending registration approval to increase: China regulator
China will tighten its inspection of infant formula products that are pending registration approval by conducting more sample testing and on-site inspection.
The State Administration for Market Regulation's (SAMR) Department of Special Food Safety Supervision deputy head Ma Fuxiang said so during the second China Dairy Quality Annual meeting held on January 21.
Ma said that the SAMR took a serious view of the registration process of infant formula powder. Product safety and the scientific evidence presented are key areas of focus.
Food contamination on par with 'treason': New Zealand food industry backs bill demanding harsher punishment for saboteurs
Food industry groups in New Zealand are rallying behind a proposed bill that is demanding the introduction of harsher punishment for people who deliberately contaminate / sabotage food.
The bill is being proposed by the National Party's food safety spokesperson Nathan Guy.
"My Member's Bill seeks to achieve what Damien O'Connor appears unwilling to do — protect New Zealanders from those that would threaten our food safety, be they reckless pranksters or people intent on nothing less than economic sabotage," said Guy via an official press release.
Beyond belief: NZ supplements sector staggered as government goes back to drawing board
New Zealand's natural products sector is facing yet another lengthy process of workshops, surveys and consultations to secure regulations that are fit-for-purpose, after the government signalled its intention to go back to the drawing board.
The vast majority of the nation's sector has been clamouring for new regulations for years, with the existing rules dating back to the mid-1980s.
They came tantalisingly close to achieving success in 2017, before the proposed Natural Health Products Bill was withdrawn ahead of the Committee of the Whole House Stage following a change in government.
Fortification fight: Help for Indian food and nutrition firms to meet implementation challenges
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) department in Pune, Maharashtra, has announced a programme to fortify staple foods in the city, supported by a package of support for food and nutrition firms.
The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), an NGO founded in 2002, will now offer technical support in the form of training programmes and product testing to make it easier for companies to fortify foods such as wheat, rice, milk and oil.
According to Pune's FDA commissioner, Suresh Deshmukh, the department is the first in Maharashtra to have developed such an initiative.
China direct selling: All 91 firms summoned to regulator meeting amid '100-day' clampdown
China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and Ministry of Commerce summoned all 91 direct-selling firms operating in China to a meeting as part of the '100-day operation' to clean up the health food market.
Industry experts previously told NutraIngredients-Asia that the direct-selling industry was especially hard-hit by the operation. One indicator was that the Chinese authorities had stopped issuing the Direct Sale License temporarily.
At the January 29 meeting, the direct-selling firms were told to self-examine their production processes, information made available in product labels and dosage information, sales, internal management, and direct-selling agents.
