Strict law to protect safety on the bite
Updated 20:51, 12-Nov-2019
Wang Xiying
01:47

As the saying goes, you are what you eat. In China, new food safety and security laws are aimed at keeping us all healthy. After decades of tackling food security issues, officials say these tougher laws will help set new norms. 

In an era of healthy eating, new laws aim to keep our food free of unhealthy and harmful components. A series of new food security guidelines published last month will take effect next month, which will strictly control risks from food sources.

Vice Minister of State Administration for Market Sun Meijun says the regulations will set up a risk assessment system for agricultural input, strengthening the management of agricultural input such as pesticides and veterinary drugs, and prevent unqualified food from entering the market.

In China, the nation's agricultural food system contributes about 23.3 percent of the country's GDP. Sun also says the new laws highlight the importance of examinations on food quality.

Last week, Chinese food delivery giant Meituan officially signed a contract with testing and certification giant SGS to continuously promote food safety under the new consumption standards.

China's food industry and food security system have made remarkable achievements over the past two decades.

As an active part of global food security governance, the new laws will also push China one step closer to implementing the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.