● The Standing Committee of China's supreme parliament, the National People's Congress, has passed a revised agricultural product quality and safety law.

● The revised law also strengthened penalties for misconduct. Under the new law, the sale of agricultural products containing excessive pesticides or veterinary drugs will be fined 10 to 20 times the value of the product if the value of the product exceeds 10,000 RMB (1,438 USD) or RMB 10,000. The above penalties are based on the Food Safety Act.

● This amendment strengthens the link between the new law and the Food Safety Act, allowing for more comprehensive oversight of all stages related to food safety.

● As more product is sold online, new legislation requires online sales platforms and those involved in cold chain logistics to take responsibility for food safety. Sample inspections by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) showed that 2.51% of 2.37 million batches of food in the first half of 2022 contained substandard samples, an increase of 0.17 points over the previous year.

Referencehttp://www.npc.gov.cn/zgrdw/englishnpc/Law/2011-02/15/content_1620635.htm