In March 2016, the China Food and Drug
Administration (CFDA) issued the Notice on Sampling Inspection to Selected Food
Enterprises 2016, including 40 healthcare food producers. Altogether 1,452 food
producers were on the list, including well-known enterprises, like COFCO
Corporation, Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy (Group) Co., Ltd. and Shuanghui
Group.
Source: Baidu
In particular, 40 healthcare food producers were among them, including
Beijing Tong Ren Tang Group Co., Ltd., Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd.
and Shanghai Jiaoda Onlly Co., Ltd.
This aroused great attention from domestic healthcare food producers, who
considered it a sign for stricter government regulation on this industry.
"It was the first time to publicize the list of healthcare food producers for sampling
inspection,' said Jia Yaguang, vice president of the China Health Care
Association.
The market size of healthcare products has expended to USD69.68 billion (RMB450
billion) in 2015. With further development, issues, like crooked promotion and
quality safety, have also emerged.
"What matters most is that current healthcare products focus more on
advertising and marketing," disclosed Zhu Yi, associate professor in the
Academics of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural
University.
There is a large gap between advertising and the actual products. Illegal
advertising and exaggerated promotion has become an "outspoken rule"
in the healthcare product market.
What's worse, illegal additives have been found in the healthcare foods, like
the hormones in diet food and the medicines to regulate blood glucose in the
corresponding healthcare products. These illegal additives are likely to do
great harm to the users.
"This list demonstrates the CDFA's determination to rectify," continued
Zhu Yi. In the latest version of Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of
China, administrative review and file record for food enterprises are required
to be done at the same time, which lowers the standards for production
approval.
This sampling inspection to the 40 healthcare food producers showed the CDFA's
stricter supervision on healthcare products with production approval numbers.
CDFA expected this inspection can serve as a deterrent to other healthcare
product producers.
So far, there have been over 2,500
producers in China's healthcare product market, with 15,000+ production
approval numbers and 5,000+ brands.
On the whole, there are three vital issues to be solved:
1. Crooked or exaggerated promotion on the product effect
2. Fraud in marketing
3. Over-priced to cheat the senior customers out of their money
According to China Customers Association, complaint cases on healthcare
products reached 2,389 in 2015. For instance, in Beijing, complaints on
healthcare products topped the list of food industry, 26.09% of the industrial
total.
"Healthcare product industry concerns the public health," said some
insiders, "Related departments should cooperate to set up the supervision
system and improve the market access and withdrawal regulations.
Moreover, the
publicity departments should strengthen regulation on advertising, especially
the ones about healthcare products. Those healthcare food agencies involved in
crooked promotion and violation of laws should be investigated and
handled."
This article comes from Vitamins China E-News 1604, CCM
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Tag: healthcare food