The city will push ahead with its ongoing drive to improve the quality of food on local supermarket shelves by setting new standards for poultry and eggs, and tightening regulations on local farmers.
The new regulations, which will go into effect next Thursday, cover all aspects of food production from farming, to testing, pack-aging, and transportation, according to Ji Jian, spokesman for the Shanghai Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision.
As tough as the new standards are, Ji said they are minimal criteria.
"Bureau officers en-courage enterprises to set down their own standards even higher than the city's requirement," he said.
The standards stipulate that any poultry sold in local markets must have a shiny gloss on its skin and tissue sections, while eggs should have clear and transparent whites and elastic yolks.
The new rules also regulate the amount of microorganisms, animal vaccines, and heavy metal residues allowed in meat and eggs. For example, the residue of mercury in chicken and eggs must be lower than 0.05 milligram per kilogram and 0.03 milligram per kilogram respectively.
Markets can meet these requirements only if local farms are well managed, said Ji. "Healthy poultry depends on clean farms, standard epidemic-prevention measures, safe animal vaccines, qualified feed and strict testing and quarantine procedures."
Therefore, the bureau will require poultry farms to set up disinfected locker rooms, veterinary rooms and dispensaries, and raise different kinds of poultry in separate areas.
Quarantine organizations will carry out regular tests on the farms and other animals and birds are prohibited from entering a farm to avoid spreading diseases, Ji said.
Altogether 173 feeds and feed additives have received government certification for use on local farms.
While the standards mean more testing for local supermarkets, they seemed prepared, rather than concerned.
"Eggs sold at our outlets have the date printed on them and put on shelf the second day after they are laid," said Gao Zhenglun, quality director of Shanghai Hualian Supermarket. "Our eggs all pass strict tests and quarantine and meet the relevant international standards."
Kong Fanlin, an executive of Shanghai Lianhua Supermarket, added, "Our company owns a testing organization and is one of the model supermarkets selling safe agricultural products in the country."
He believes the new standards will help his company promote its quality products.
(eastday.com January 04, 2002)
