China builds credit system in children's food industry
(crienglish.com)
Updated: 2005-04-11 16:08

China is establishing a system to cover the credit record and management of companies that sell children's food in the country. The move is intended to give consumers easier access to information about the companies who make the products before they buy. Our reporter Xiaoyu has more.

Trial work on the project began a year ago for children's milk powder and rice flour.

Wang Baiqin, with China's Institute of Children's Food, says setting up archives is essential to building a good credit system.

"The two archives, one recording the internal management of the company and the other, the credit record of their products, are a must in the upcoming credit system of children's food security."

The first archive is aimed at motivating a company to improve and regulate production and information management.

The second archive includes information on whether the company's products and sales meet national standards. It also includes market and customer feedback.

When the credit system officially starts next April, credit records will only be published by authorized organizations and will be available to both the enterprises and the customers.

The new system is not legally required, but Wang Baiqin believes it will help qualified companies improve their reputations and make them more competitive.

She says the government decided on the new system after it was discovered that poor management in the industry was leading to unsafe products and malnutrition in children.

"China's children's food industry has been poorly managed because it's hard to define children's food which covers many sectors. As a result, questionable companies have been producing food that threatens children's safety. So it's hoped the new credit system will help regulate a disordered market by giving consumers the product information they need to make informed purchases."

After the systems's first year in trial, some problems were found. But, Wang Baiqin says more support from the government is now expected so that information collecting will go smoother.

The Institute of Children's Food is also defining what can be called children's food from a more scientific perspective in order to guarantee a more regulated industry.

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