On 16 May, China’s Certification and
Accreditation Administration (CNCA) updated the list of registered Austrian infant formula exporters on its official website, in the process highlighting
its suspension of Agrana Stärke GmbH (Agrana): against its Registration No. AT
30345 EG, the “Remark” column now shows “Suspension” clearly marked in red and
large font size.
Source: Baidu
Since 1 May, 2014, a new regulation from the General Administration of Quality
Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) made CNCA registration mandatory
for foreign-made infant formulas. In the first list unveiled in that month,
there were 41 infant formula producers from 13 countries approved for export
into China.
Agrana is a starch manufacturer which produces infant formula for 3rd party
brandowners such as Holle: “We are a globally recognised and reliable
contracted infant formula supplier,” it claims in its brochure, and it is known
for its longstanding production of organic infant formula. It is not a
largescale manufacturer but this development will undoubtedly cause it a
significant problem.
So far the CNCA has not explained the
suspension, but it must relate to the problems with 2 batches of Holle infant
formulas found by the Heilongjiang Food and Drug Administration (HFDA) on 12
May.
Early in January 2015, CNCA suspended the registration for Spanish dairy
producer CAPSA (Corporacion Alimentaria Penasanta S.A.) after tests in 2014
found that a UHT milk from the company contained excess acidity.
Its
registration was suspended in accordance with the Article 14 in the Provisions
on the Administration of Registration of Foreign Enterprises Producing Imported
Food, and to date the company is still marked for “suspension”.
This indicates that once imported dairy products are found to be substandard
and the corresponding producers are determined to be unable to control the
risks, their registration suspension can last a long time, with restoration far
from certain.
In January 2015, AQSIQ stated at a regular press conference that CNCA would
take a dynamic approach to administration of registrants, by:
Carrying out irregular checks and making
effectiveness evaluations of specific targets
Ensuring that the different government
departments work together and are stricter on foreign enterprises, subjecting
them to periodic inspections and potentially even cancelling their
registrations if necessary
Just on 11 May, the State Council released the Notice about 2016 Key Work
Arrangement for Food Safety, proposing universal checks on the quality and
safety of imported infant formulas, this coming under the remit of AQSIQ and
the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA).
The suspension of Agrana's registration
within 4 days of the substandard test report should be a clear signal that
China is stepping up its clampdown on perceived problem products.
List of Austrian infant formula producers
registered in China, 16 May
Source: Certification and Accreditation
Administration
This article comes from Dairy Products China News 1605, CCM
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Tag: infant formula dairy