Food Partner Network News The factory inspection is the last assessment of the quality of the company's products. It is an important means of judging whether the product can be sold, and it is also a necessary condition for the company to issue a product qualification certificate. How does my country's standards and regulations require factory inspections and what items should be tested for product factory inspections, and then I will give you a specific introduction.
Standards and regulations
Article 52 of the "Food Safety Law", producers of food, food additives, and food-related products shall inspect the food, food additives, and food-related products produced in accordance with food safety standards. Only after passing the inspection can they leave the factory or sell. .
Article 18 of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Food Safety Law states that food producers and operators shall establish a food safety traceability system, and truthfully record and keep information such as purchase inspections, factory inspections, and food sales in accordance with the provisions of the Food Safety Law to ensure food traceability.
Article 25 of the "Measures for the Administration of Import and Export Food Safety", export food production enterprises shall establish a factory inspection record system, and inspect their exported food in accordance with the requirements of these measures, and apply for inspection only after passing the inspection.
The "Code of Practice for Food Safety in Catering Services" requires that those who purchase food from food producers shall check their food production licenses and product qualification certificates; those who purchase food additives and food-related products shall check their business licenses and product qualification certificates, etc. .
The General Hygiene Code for Food Production (GB14881-2013) stipulates that enterprises should inspect raw materials and products through self-inspection or entrust a qualified food inspection agency to inspect raw materials and products, and establish a food delivery inspection record system.
The General Principles of Food Production Inspection and its Q&A also clarify that if an enterprise conducts inspections of its products on its own, it shall have the inspection equipment and facilities specified in the inspection rules, and its performance and accuracy shall meet the inspection needs.
In addition to national-level regulations, all local food safety supervision and inspection regulations issued require companies to establish and implement a factory inspection record system.
Determination of factory inspection items
The determination of the test items of the product delivery inspection can be divided into the following methods for confirmation according to the different product conditions.
The review rules/product implementation standards have provisions
If there are relevant provisions for factory inspection items in the review rules and product implementation standards, the factory inspection can be carried out in accordance with the items specified in the rules and standards.
When the detailed rules and product standards are inconsistent with the requirements of the factory inspection items, due to the early release of the detailed rules and product standards of some products, it is no longer suitable for food safety management at this stage. Enterprises can comprehensively consider product characteristics, process characteristics, raw material control conditions, etc. Factors, combined with the requirements of the detailed rules and product standards to adjust the test items.
The review rules/product implementation standards are not stipulated
For beverage products, the "Beverage Production License Review Regulations" (2017 Edition) emphasizes the testing capabilities and no longer stipulates the factory inspection items; and the "National Food Safety Standard Beverages" (GB 7101-2015) does not have the requirements for the factory inspection items. For cases where no factory inspection items are specified in the review rules and product implementation standards, the company can refer to the factory inspection items specified in the recommended standards for related products for factory inspection; or according to local regulatory requirements, such as food safety risk monitoring, Local food safety standards, combining product characteristics, process characteristics, raw material control conditions and other factors, reasonably determine the delivery inspection items.
Short-term warranty product factory inspection
For short-term foods, if they wait for the microbiological test to pass before leaving the factory, the shelf life of some products may be approaching the end. Regarding the issue of the time limit for short-term guarantee food factory inspection, the state has not made clear regulations, and it needs to be operated in accordance with the requirements of local regulatory authorities. According to the author’s experience, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other local regulatory authorities allow short-term guarantee products to be tested while leaving the factory, but companies must take necessary measures to ensure the safety of food produced. Enterprises in other places can confirm with the local competent authority whether the territorial regulatory authority has special management for short-term insurance products.
summary
Looking back on the regulatory trends in recent years, we can find that the regulatory authorities have been strengthening the monitoring of the entire process of food production. The review rules issued in recent years emphasize inspection capabilities and no longer stipulate factory inspection items. In addition to continuously improving quality standards to improve quality controllability, as the first person responsible for food safety, enterprises should continuously improve the food safety management systems such as purchase inspection records, production process control, factory inspection records, and food safety self-detection factory inspections. , To ensure product quality meets requirements.
As food importer & food distributor based in Frankfurt and Shanghai, Sinoloben Europa Trading GmbH helps client export to China and bring your food products to International Expo, e.g. China International Import Expo (CIIE), the world's largest import-themed expo.
Source: Food Partner Network Author: Food Safety Compliance Division
