SAMR Releases Interim Rules governing Quality Safety of Food-related Products

On October 8, 2022, the State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR”) released the “Interim Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Quality Safety of Food-related Products”, which will come into force on March 1, 2023.

With 39 articles in five chapters, the Measures are applicable to the production and sales of food-related products in China, as well as the supervision and administration of those activities. The rule focuses on implementing the most stringent standards, and the strictest supervision and administration, and imposing the severest penalties and the most serious accountability. The Measures strengthened administration of the whole production process of food-related products covering production, sales, storage, packaging and other key process, and clarified the responsibilities of producers and sellers as the “first responsible persons”, and the territorial supervision responsibility of market supervisors, imposing higher requirements on enterprises and supervisors. Producers are required to staff quality safety supervisors and quality safety officers. The measures also include provisions on the labeling of food-related products, prohibiting production, sales and use of food-related products that do not meet food safety standards or use additives beyond scope and limit.