Notice of General Office of the State Council on Further

  Intensifying the Control over Agrochemicals and Veterinary

  Drugs to Ensure Food Safety

   The people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly

   under the Central Government, and all the ministries, commissions and the departments directly

   under the State Council,

   China has witnessed continual and stable agricultural development and an overall trend of 

   improving food safety in recent years. Nevertheless, the illegal production, management and

   use of agrochemicals and veterinary drugs are still serious in some areas, accompanied by

   occasional events in the quality and safety of farm produce. Therefore, all relevant departments

   nationwide need to pay great heed to the events and take practical, effective measures to

   further intensify the control over agrochemicals and veterinary drugs and thus ensure the quality

   and safety of edible farm produce and food safety. With the approval of the State Council, we

   hereby notify the following tasks:

   I. Enhance the control over the production and management of agrochemicals and veterinary

   drugs. Highly poisonous components are banned from being added into agrochemicals and

   veterinary drugs. The production and sale of counterfeit and inferior agrochemicals and veterinary

   drugs should be cracked down. All the producers of agrochemicals and veterinary drugs must

   make products in accordance with the national quality and safety standards. The system of

   managing restrictively-used agrochemicals (including highly poisonous agrochemicals) at

   designated points should be strictly implemented, and such measures as special store-based sale,

   real name-based purchase and source-tracing management should be taken. The production

   and marketing of the agrochemicals which are prohibited by the national regulations should be

   banned. Ministry of Agriculture needs to speed up the making and implementation of the plan of

   removing addictive from medicine and feed and eliminating those with potential risk as soon as

   possible. The enterprises producing feed are banned from adding antibacterials into feed.

   II. Intensify the control and guidance on the use of agrochemicals and veterinary drugs. The

   systems related to the control over the use of agrochemicals and veterinary drugs should be

   strictly implemented. All the enterprises and the special cooperative economic organizations for

   farmers which produce edible farm produce must record the use of agrochemicals and veterinary

   drugs in the production of farm produce in accordance with relevant laws and regulations,

   recording the time, type and quantity of the used agrochemicals and veterinary drugs in a

   reliable and timely manner. The recording should last for at least two years. All relevant local

   departments should make and implement the plans for the training on the use of agrochemicals

   and veterinary drugs, popularize relevant laws and regulations as well as plantings and breeding

   skills, and guide those producing and managing farm produce in the targeted and rational use of

   agrochemicals and veterinary drugs. The use of agrochemicals and veterinary drugs should be

   regulated. The agrochemicals and veterinary drugs which are banned should not be used; the

   restrictively-used ones should be used according to the designated scope and dose; the allowed

   ones should be consistent with the rules of the safety interval and the withdrawal period.

   III. Enhance the monitoring of the random inspection of residual of agrochemicals and veterinary

   drugs. All relevant local departments should conduct the test on the residual of agrochemicals

   and veterinary drugs of the enterprises of food production and the wholesale markets of edible

   farm produce. All producers and operators must bear the legal duties for the quality and safety

   of the edible farm produce and food they produce and sell, and ensure that the residual of the

   agrochemicals and veterinary drugs they produce and sell meet the national standards. The

   agricultural departments of all levels should reinforce the monitoring and inspection of producers

   and operators of farm produce, and the regulators of food and medicine should intensify the

   random inspection of the residual of agrochemicals and veterinary drugs in the grains, vegetables,

   melons, fruits, meat, eggs, milk, tea leaves and other food in the market. For the producers and

   operators with illegal use of agrochemicals and veterinary drugs or excessive residual, the

   departments should order the producers and operators to take the problematic products off the

   shelves, recall and destroy the problematic products in time to control the risk. Moreover, the

   sources and destinations of the problematic products should be traced, and those which are held

   accountable should bear legal duties according to the laws.

   IV. Enhance the control over the origin exit and market access of edible farm produce. All

   relevant local departments should increase the test on the origin of edible farm produce, establish

   a better connection mechanism for origin exit and market access, and urge producers and

   operators to strictly implement the system of checking and recording stock. Moreover, special

   improvement on the quality and safety of livestock, poultry and aquatic products should be

   promoted. The monitoring and inspection of planting, breeding, acquisition, storage, transport

   and marketing should be intensified, and the food safety risk should be strictly prevented and

   controlled.

   V. Intensify the governance of the sources of food safety risk. All relevant local departments

   should further strive for the zero growth of chemical fertilizers and agrochemicals and the

   reduction in the use of agrochemicals and veterinary drugs to reduce agricultural diffused

   pollution. The environment monitoring and risk evaluation of the origins of edible farm produce

   should be conducted, and the governance of soil and water pollution should be enhanced.

   Emphasis should be placed on the heavy metal pollution of farmland and the water pollution of

   agricultural planting and breeding, so as to prevent pollutants from the farmland. The monitoring

   of quality and safety of grain in the purchase and storage should be reinforced, and the

   enterprises of grain purchase and storage should be equipped with the equipment for drying and

   fast test. The grain with excessive mycotoxin and heavy metal should be treated in time, and the

   grain inconsistent with the food safety standards should be banned from entering the provisions

   market. Moreover, special services for the prevention and treatment of plant diseases, pests and

   animal epidemic should be promoted to expand the coverage of special standard prevention and

   treatment.

   VI. Crack down on the crimes related to food safety. The production manager of edible farm

   produce and food is the primary person responsible for the quality and safety of edible farm

   produce and food; hence, he/she must bear the main duties in this aspect. All relevant local

   departments should hold those accountable for the following conducts: use highly poisonous

   agrochemicals in the production of farm produce like vegetables, melons, fruits, tea leaves and

   traditional Chinese herbs; use banned substances like malachite green, nitrofuran and

   chloromycetin in aquaculture; use excessive agrochemicals and veterinary drugs; use

   agrochemicals and veterinary drugs without meeting the requirements of the safety interval and

   the withdrawal period; fail to record truthfully or keep records. Those suspected of crimes should

   be brought to the public security organ in time according to the laws.

   VII. Strictly perform the management duties of local governments. The local people's

   governments of all levels should give priority to guaranteeing food safety and bear

   responsibilities for relevant problems. Importance should be attached to the supervision in

   planting and breeding to ensure the quality and safety of edible farm produce from the very

   beginning. The supervision and random inspection of edible farm produce and food in the

   market should be intensified, and unqualified products should be banned from being served at

   dinner tables. The grassroots supervision and law enforcement of agrochemicals and veterinary

   drugs should be enhanced, and the funds for supervision, law enforcement and test should be

   brought into the budget of the government. Local administrative regulations and technical

   standards should be improved. Moreover, the regulators of all levels should earnestly perform

   the duties of monitoring and managing the quality and safety of edible farm produce and food

   safety, detect and punish illegal conducts in time and response actively to social concerns.

                                                                            General Office of the State Council
                                                                                        September 19, 2017

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