AQSIQ Release 2017 Food Related Products National Sampling Results

Plastic food related products were subject to the highest sampling rate in the 2017 national sampling campaign. These products achieved a satisfactory grade. Nearly half of food machinery inspected were found non-compliant Product non-compliance was primarily associated with small sized enterprises.

On Dec. 27, 2017, China AQSIQ released the sampling results of food related products in 2017, involving plastic food related products, paper and paperboard materials and articles for food contact use, and food machinery. Altogether 2507 batches of products (excluding export ones) from 2307 enterprises were inspected. The overall qualification rate was 96.6%.

Small and medium enterprises accounted for the majority of all inspections. There were 71 large-scale, 501 medium and 1798 small enterprises inspected, accounting for 3%, 21.1% and 75.9% respectively.

Plastic food related product accounted for the highest proportion of inspections, involving 1506 batches from 1426 enterprises. The disqualification rate was the lowest among the three categories inspected. 926 batches of paper and paperboard for food contact used were inspected, and 38 batches were disqualified. AQSIQ inspected 75 batches of food machinery and 40 of them were found non-compliant.

Non-compliance was mainly associated with small sized enterprise. The following table details the national sampling results.

Product type	Disqualification rate	Sampled product type	Non-compliant item	Disqualification ratio among large, medium and small sized enterprises
Plastic food related products	0.5%	2 types RCPP, retort pouch and retortable box for food contact use Melamine tableware	barrier property (Oxygen) pollution resistance	0.0%, 0.0%, 0.8%
Paper and paperboard materials and articles for food contact use	4.1%	12 types, including: food packaging paper Paper bag Paper can Paper cup Paper tableware Paper box	Sensory requirements leakage performance (oil) Cup stiffness performance (water) fluorescent substances	0.0%, 0.7%, 4.9%
Food machinery	53.8%	2 types Slicer dough mixer	Aluminum physical and chemical index – Cadmium power connections and external soft wire structure Grounding measures Stability and mechanical hazard Abnormal operation Safety and sanitation of equipment Internal wiring Protection Against contact with live parts Binding post for external wiring Bolt and connection	29.4%, 53.8%, 62.2%

The 2017 food related products national sampling campaign expanded on the product supervision scope and attached greater importance to physical and chemical indicators. At the end of July in 2017, China AQSIQ released 4 implementation rules on national inspection of those 3 types of food related products (read CL news here). Please click here for Checklists of National Sampling of Food Contact Materials and Articles in China.