When the State Council Information Office held a press conference recently to answer questions from the media on food and drug safety, it was a clear sign of the government's commitment to tackling the problems caused by some food and medicine exporters.

Following the conference, several government departments launched investigations into the guilty companies and suspended their export licenses in a bid to protect the country's reputation as a major exporter of agricultural products.

As a matter of fact, the government gives great importance to the matter of food safety.

Food products to be exported to Japan, for example, are closely monitored by Japanese experts based in China. This means they go through three "checkpoints" - on-site supervision by Japanese importers, examination by customs before it leaves Chinese soil, and examination by customs on its arrival in Japan.

As a result, the quality of the Chinese food exported to Japan is guaranteed and there should be no food-safety question.

However, Japanese authorities recently imposed very strict requirements on pesticide residues on farm produce and, as a result, some Chinese agricultural products, despite having only very low levels of residues, failed to meet the standards.

This new kind of trade barrier, erected by Japan and some other developed countries, poses a real test for Chinese food-checking technologies and those involved in the production of farm produce.

Naturally, some Chinese exporters have raised questions.

"Are the Japanese being too harsh on Chinese imports?" "Are they deliberately playing up the matter so as to protect Japanese farmers?"

Their need to know is understandable.

While some companies managed to export products that did not meet the food-safety standards of the importing countries, they did so without the knowledge of the Chinese government.

However, in a bid to stop such products getting through in future, the government should clearly define its area of responsibility and implement an effective supervision system to ensure food safety.

Exports can impact on the health of consumers overseas so their safety has to be guaranteed. Therefore all governments should take effective action to ensure only food that meets the standards of the destination country is allowed to leave.

As well as strengthening the management of food exports, the government should also reinforce the management of the food supply to the domestic market.

Only by doing so can it safeguard the credibility of both the food and tourism industries and put consumers at ease.

The question now is, who should be held responsible for exporting products that did not meet Japan's food-safety requirements? How did it get through the "checkpoint" of the Chinese customs?

The answer is, the relevant Chinese department should graciously take responsibility.

Supervision and management in this regard should be strengthened to show China does not tolerate substandard products slipping through the net, if for no other reason than to protect the good name of its leading exporters.

It is only natural for people involved in the export business here to be resentful about foreign media attempts to exaggerate the situation: Some have even suggested there might be an economic or political motivation behind some news reports.

While it is impossible to dictate what the foreign media say, if a Chinese firm feels unfairly treated by a report it should supply the government with indisputable facts and conclusive data so that a legal case might be brought against the publisher. This would go a long way to protect the interests and credibility of exporters.

Local consumers have become increasingly concerned with the issue of food safety and TV stations such as China Central Television frequently report on the issue.

There is now an opportunity for the relevant authorities to turn the pressure on Chinese exporters into an opportunity to strengthen the supervision and management of the food supply for both the overseas and domestic markets.

The author is a researcher with the Institute of Japanese Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

(China Daily 07/24/2007 page10)