International Approaches to Food Safety in China

Exporters and importers from around the world have gathered at the 2011 Northeast Asia Expo in northeast China's Chang Chun city. Among them are food importers hoping to extend their market share here in China.

CRI's David Dawson takes the chance to examine how different companies are tackling the controversial issue of food safety as they develop new strategies, using everything from lab testing, to supply chain modifications¹ and advanced technologies.

 
Food safety is an issue that's been on everybody's mind lately - particularly those who depend on it for their business.

"We want to be perfect, we want to be excellent, but every day we need to fight."

That's Jean Luc Lhuillier, Carrefour Vice³ President and General Manager for the Northeast region of China. The French company has carved out a significant slice of the Chinese market.

Like all retail⁴ food chains in China, Carrefour faces food safety challenges. Recent food contamination scares have made Chinese consumers warier⁵ than ever when it comes to what is on their dinner plates.

Carrefour's food safety strategy is ambitious. China's food production industry differs from most western nations as the bulk of food products are provided by smaller farms. This makes it tough for retailers⁶ and inspection⁷ agencies to ensure food quality, as the supply chains are more fragmented.

Retailers are faced with a choice - they can try to control the supply chain or they can work with local producers. Carrefour has opted⁸ to work with the locals and reduce the potential for contamination in other ways.

"I think the first thing is to train the farmer, to train them about what is hygiene⁹, how to improve hygiene, how to decrease the pesticide¹⁰."

Lhuillier says Carrefour trains the farmers who provide their wholesale¹¹ goods. It represents an impressive undertaking¹², as there are around 800,000 Chinese people employed with suppliers on the production side of their business. They've also eliminated the middle-men, who may be tempted¹³ to cut corners, and have established their own laboratory in order to test supplies regularly.

Even if companies control production, they still must deal with counterfeit¹⁴ products. These pose two potential risks for importers – fake products can eat into their market share or worse, they may cause health scares.

"As soon as you get any market penetration¹⁵, then the fakes start coming along."

That's the General Manager of Golden Seal. The New Zealand company imports luxury foods, among other things. Golden Seal is protective of its brand and plans to use a novel new technology that's still in development and won't have a significant market presence for at least another year. It's called 'Near Field Communication' or 'NFC' and utilizes¹⁶ mobile phones.

"Basically our products, especially our honey which is our company's own brand, will have an NFC chip embedded¹⁷ in it, and if a customer scans it with a phone, because it has a unique identifier, they'll be able to know that this is an authentic¹⁸ product."

Chinese Fortune 500 company COFCO is also developing new strategies to deal with food safety. COFCO senior executive Wan² Zaotian says the company is instituting new procedures which would allow them to specifically identify where in their supply chains problems might exist. He says the company recently launched these procedures in their meat and wine supply chains, and he's confident COFCO's food safety measures will protect consumers.

It remains¹⁹ to be seen which companies will have the most successful food safety strategies into the future, but one thing is certain - food safety will be on the minds of Chinese consumers for quite some time, and the companies that effectively deal with it will have an edge in the marketplace.

For CRI, I'm David Dawson.

1 modifications   

n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变

参考例句：

• The engine was pulled apart for modifications and then reassembled. 发动机被拆开改型，然后再组装起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The original plan had undergone fairly extensive modifications. 原计划已经作了相当大的修改。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

5 warier   

谨慎的，小心翼翼的( wary的比较级 )

参考例句：

• Beijing itself also become warier. 中国政府本身也变得更为谨慎。
• That suggests investors are warier than ever of lending to the banking system. 这种情况表明，投资者对借钱给银行系统的担忧比之前加剧了。

6 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

7 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

8 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

9 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

10 pesticide   

n.杀虫剂，农药

参考例句：

• The pesticide was spread over the vegetable plot.菜田里撒上了农药。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields.这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

11 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

12 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

13 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

14 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

15 penetration   

n.穿透，穿人，渗透

参考例句：

• He is a man of penetration.他是一个富有洞察力的人。
• Our aim is to achieve greater market penetration.我们的目标是进一步打入市场。

16 utilizes   

v.利用，使用( utilize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• One highly successful approach utilizes a triplet aspheric lens array. 一种很成功的方法是利用一个三合非球面透镜阵列。 来自辞典例句
• The first utilizes a blend of finely ground ceramic powders. 第一种用的是一种磨细的陶瓷粉末混合物。 来自辞典例句

17 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

18 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

19 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。