Govt to blacklist errant food firms

The local government plans next year to start blacklisting non-local companies that violate food safety regulations to prevent them from selling substandard products in Shanghai, a food safety official said Thursday.

The measure is part of a new regulatory system designed to better ensure food safety in Shanghai, said Gu Zhenhua, deputy director of the Shanghai Food Safety Commission Office.

"Food companies based outside of Shanghai found to be producing problematic products could be prohibited from selling similar products in the city after they are blacklisted," Gu told the Global Times.

The local government will put any company and its legal representative on the blacklist if it is found violating any of the 11 food safety rules specified under the regulatory system, such as products containing banned drugs or other substances that could be harmful to consumers. Other violations include making a product with recycled food or inedible ingredients, or failing to test meat products for diseases.

Relevant regulators will report a company to the Shanghai Food Safety Commission Office whenever they find a problem. The commission will further investigate before deciding whether to put it on the blacklist. It will announce companies that have been blacklisted at the beginning of each month.

The food safety authority vowed to punish any company that ends up on the blacklist to the full extent of the law, according to a detailed plan of the system on the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration's website.

The new system will apply to all companies on the food industrial chain, including those registered in the city, Gu said.

Local companies could also have their business licenses revoked if they are found buying products from blacklisted companies based outside the city.

The new system came to the public's attention after Vice Mayor Shen Xiaoming mentioned it Wednesday on a radio show while discussing how KFC's parent company in Shanghai had sourced several batches of chicken products from Shandong Province that contained excessive amounts of antibiotics.

Under current food safety laws, a food company can be fined up to 10 times its sales revenue if it sells more than 10,000 yuan ($1,604) worth of products. The municipal government can also revoke a local company's business license, but it has no authority over companies registered in other parts of China.

Blacklisted companies can be punished for at least one year with measures such as losing access to bank credit or the ability to list on the stock market. They can also be deprived of government subsidies.

The legal person in charge of a company can also be blacklisted, which would prevent him or her from running any food businesses in Shanghai, according to the plan.