Voluntary Report - Public distributionDate: 3/11/2009GAIN Report Number: CH9019CH9017China, Peoples Republic ofFAIRS Subject ReportFood Safety Law of the People's Republic of China2009Approved by:William WestmanAgBeijingPrepared by:Mark Petry and Wu BugangReport Highlights:On February 28, China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee passed the first comprehensive Food Safety Law (FSL) after five years of drafting. The FSL will go into effect on June 1, 2009. This report is an UNOFFICIAL translation of this law.Includes PSD Changes: NoIncludes Trade Matrix: NoAnnual ReportBeijing [CH1][CH]USDA Foreign Agricultural ServiceGAIN ReportGlobal Agriculture Information NetworkTemplate Version 2.09Executive Summary: On February 28, China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee passed the first comprehensive Food Safety Law (FSL) after five years of drafting; the first draft was read in December 2007. The FSL will go into effect on June 1, 2009. For the first time, the Chinese Government uses Western terminology in calling for food safety regulation “from the production line to the dining table.” Key organizational provisions create a state-level Food Safety Commission to oversee food-safety monitoring. This Commission will be composed of members from the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC). Other key provisions deal with supervision, monitoring, enforcement, recall, trace back, licensing, registration, and development of standards and regulations.A complete analysis of this law is provided in GAIN Repo...