12th NPC Standing Committee today held a meeting on the draft amendments to the food safety law submitted for consideration again.
According to the report of the NPC Law Committee, the modification involves many chapters, some of the larger changes, involving the management of food transport links for the problem, industry associations and media oversight issues with the quality and safety of agricultural law intersect, the elimination highly toxic pesticides toxic long-term issues of concern in the industry, and identification of genetically modified foods, health food in recent years began filing and other issues of public concern have responded.
Warehousing and logistics business for the first time into the food storage and transportation specifications
Previously, storage and transportation of food has been regarded as food production and operation of "activities" that covers not exist alone in the manner prescribed in the law. But in recent years, online shopping problems Xing Fang, online transactions accounted for a substantial proportion of the food to the deal began to be taken seriously. Six months ago, when the first revised draft food safety law submitted for consideration, namely that some Standing Committee members, should be those who are not professional production of food but equally professional handling of food storage and transportation, warehousing, logistics companies to regulate.
This modification adds the following: non-food producers and traders in food storage, transport and handling, storage, transport and handling of food containers, tools and equipment should be safe, harmless, kept clean to prevent food contamination, and in accordance with needed to ensure food safety and other special requirements for temperature, not the food with toxic, hazardous materials transportation together.
Media can increase food safety supervision but held accountable
Another significant change involves the supervision of public opinion in the field of food safety incidents. In the "Individual report - Media follow-up - the competent authorities to respond to" a growing number of food safety incidents based on the reality of the model under the outbreak, this time to amend the law to encourage this model made specifically for the protection of reporting requirements human rights and the need for its related information confidential, and delete the original draft of "food safety information should be released prior to the food and drug administration departments to verify the situation" requirement, allowing the media to respond more quickly to reports.
But on the other hand, the draft also stipulates that the media fabricate, spread false information about food safety, and shall be punished according to the law by the competent authorities, and the person in charge and directly responsible persons directly responsible be punished.
Genetically modified foods should be otherwise liable required identification
For recent years, genetically modified foods hot debate, the revised draft places fairly low-key way to respond.
For a lot of people call on genetically modified foods should be clearly identified, citing a draft "genetically modified organisms safety regulations" in the existing system of agricultural GMOs, calling for "production and management of genetically modified foods should be identified in accordance with the provisions." But in what way specifically identified any difference GMOs in food labeling and identification, how to define "prescribed" and other issues, the draft no answer.
Another chapter in the legal liability, the draft states that "genetically modified foods Failing to identify" likely to bear confiscate the illegal income from fines to suspend production or business license revoked, and various grades of punishment, but "tab flawed but does not affect food safe "by the Food and Drug regulatory authorities above the county level can be ordered to correct, refuse to correct, a fine of 2,000 yuan.
Further strengthen the legal responsibility: increased fines limit
The draft chapter on legal responsibility to make a more substantial changes, for example, joined the "illegal production and management of food knowing that others still offer places" jointly and severally responsible for; non-food raw materials for the production of food such serious violations, for the first time to join physical punishment, allow detention responsible; the kind of raw materials to produce food with expired behavior Häfele events in the past in the blind spot in the legal liability, the provisions were included; a clear focus on tableware disinfection service department in charge of the unit and so on.
On the other hand, there is also a fine amplitude adjustment. Some of the original provisions of the range "2000-50000 yuan" between punishment is considered discretionary margin is too large, the lower limit rises to $ 10,000. Similarly, fine, "5000-20000 yuan" between has also been adjusted to "20,000 to 50,000 yuan." Certain principles have been prescribed punishment and "no cap" punitive damages, increased provisions: increase in compensation of less than one thousand dollars, to 1,000.
Thus, in the revised draft a reviewer has greatly increased the penalty clause in the existing law, and the first set, "no cap" type of punishment on the basis of two referees to tighten fine limit, raising the cost of making illegal again.
