US, China sign deals to safeguard food

The United States and China signed two deals Tuesday to safeguard the quality of food and drugs ranging from pet food to certain types of antibiotics imported into the U.S. from China.

China's exports have come under intense scrutiny this year because a number of potentially deadly chemicals have been found in goods including toothpaste, toys and seafood. The international outrage grew in March after a tainted pet food ingredient made in China was blamed for the deaths of cats and dogs in North America.

The agreements on food and feed product safety and on drugs and medical devices were signed at the end of a meeting of the China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade by U.S. Health Secretary Mike Leavitt.

"These strong, action-oriented documents require specific steps and set clear deadlines," Leavitt said in a statement.

"Taken together, these agreements will enhance the safety of scores of household items the American people consume on a daily basis," he said.

A Health Department statement said the agreements will establish bilateral mechanisms to provide more information on the goods imported into the United States. Exporters will have to register with Chinese authorities.

The agreements also call for the Chinese to improve access to relevant production facilities by U.S. officials.

"To keep up with the pace of global commerce, we need a fundamental shift from trying to catch unsafe products as they come in, to building quality and safety into products before they reach our borders," Leavitt said.

The quality of Chinese exports has been a contentious issue between the countries, and Vice Premier Wu Yi said Tuesday that big steps had been made in the last few months in improving China's product safety, but added there were gaps between developing and developed countries in standards and supervision.

"This means we need to expand our common ground and jointly strengthen our supervision and control efforts to improve product quality," she said in a commentary published in the Asian Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

Wu said new laws and increased safety checks meant the "Made in China" label "will be even more popular with consumers around the world."

Li Changjiang, head of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, signed the agreements for China.