Do you remember the following blog post headline?

March 3rd, 2009

At what cost profit? Procurement professionals need to exercise great care when sourcing food products from China.

At what cost profit? Procurement professionals need to exercise great care when sourcing food products from China.

Last Saturday, china passed a tougher food law with much tougher penalties in hopes of avoiding problems in the future like the pet food problem we are all aware of in the United States, and the tainted milk problem in their own country that sickened greater than over 300,000 and killed at least six children.

These events had a significant damaging effect on China branded products world wide and have caused many companies to seek products from sources that are closer to home.
This author has posted on this subject many times during the last year.

Already, individuals within the Chinese distribution system have questioned whether the law goes far enough toward reform of the system. Chinese consumers are also questioning the amount of success the new law will have.

During the last year the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) opened offices in Beijing which we covered in a recent post, but without a similar organization in China which many had hoped would result from this legislation. This author believes it is questionable the impact the FDA can have without the same type of structure within China.

This author applauds any advancement in food safety taken by any country or organization. With that said, we must also be wary of the additional bureaucracy and the delays it may create.

Procurement professionals should continue to exercise great care when sourcing food products from China and work with your solution providers to insure that selected suppliers provide traceable data to insure rapid traceability when required.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments

If you thought this page is useful to your friend, use this form to send.
Friend Email
Enter your message