In order to implement the spirit of the 2014 National Certification and Accreditation Conference, in accordance with the work guidelines of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China on “improving quality, ensuring safety, promoting development, and strengthening quality supervision,” and in accordance with the 2014 work plan of the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China and the "Notice of the Certification and Accreditation Administration on Issuing the 2014 Special Supervision and Inspection Plan for Certification and Accreditation" (Guo Ren Fa [2014] No. 23), the Certification and Accreditation Administration conducted special supervision and inspection on the quality status of domestic organic products.
7.1 Basic Sampling Information
7.1.1 Scope of Products Subject to Random Inspection
In 2014, with the objectives of safeguarding people's livelihood and protecting consumer safety, and with a focus on objectively reflecting the quality and safety status of organic certified products, the types of products subject to random inspection were determined by combining the list of products under key special rectification for food safety by the State Council in 2014, the corresponding supervision and inspection plans and priorities of the Certification and Accreditation Administration, previous organic sampling inspection results, and public opinion monitoring. Following the main principles of “focusing on high-risk sensitive products and products in key regions,” tea and fruits, which had low or unstable qualification rates in random inspections in recent years, were selected; dairy products, alcoholic beverages, and vegetable oil products, which had more complaints, greater regulatory risks, and frequent emergencies in recent years, were selected; and grain products, which had poor certification authenticity during sampling in the circulation sector in previous years, were selected. Emphasis was placed on regions with concentrated sales of organic products and regions with concentrated production (such as the main tea-producing areas in Sichuan and Yunnan, and demonstration and creation zones for organic product certification), striving to truly reflect the authentic level of organic product certification from multiple perspectives. The circulation sector remained the focus in order to ascertain the true situation of products bearing the “organic” label on the market. For the first time, trial sampling inspections were conducted on organic products sold on online platforms, laying the foundation for exploring certification supervision models for online platforms.
Based on the above circumstances, in 2014, according to plan, random inspections were conducted in the circulation sectors of conventional and online platforms in 5 provinces and municipalities with relatively large organic product sales volumes, namely Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Guangdong; in the production sectors of witness inspection enterprises certified for organic products in Yunnan Province and Sichuan Province, and in the organic product certification demonstration and creation zones of Yanqing County in Beijing, Yang County in Shaanxi, and Majiang County in Guizhou; covering 6 categories of products including grain, tea, fruits, dairy products, vegetable oil, alcoholic beverages, and fruit and vegetable juices.
7.1.2 Basis for Testing and Determination of Sampled Products 7.1.2.1 Testing Basis
A comprehensive collection, organization, and compilation of testing standards for pesticide residues, veterinary drug residues, heavy metals, additives, and illegal additives in tea, grain products, vegetable oil, fruits, dairy products, alcoholic beverages, and fruit and vegetable juice beverage products was conducted, with testing indicators reaching as many as 516 items. Multi-pesticide rapid detection technology was adopted for the sampled products. For fruits and grain products (including alcoholic beverage products), pesticide residue testing was conducted using a multi-pesticide full-scan screening and investigation method, with a total of 495 pesticide residue testing items. Other testing items were determined using a risk assessment approach combined with items with high detection rates, including: 4 heavy metal items, 2 toxin items, 8 additive items, 3 genetically modified items, and 4 illegal additive items.
7.1.2.2 Determination Basis
GB/T 19630-2011 "Organic Products," GB 2760-2011 "National Food Safety Standard - Standard for Use of Food Additives," GB 2761-2011 "National Food Safety Standard - Maximum Levels of Mycotoxins in Foods," GB 2762-2012 "National Food Safety Standard - Maximum Levels of Contaminants in Foods," GB 2763-2012 "National Food Safety Standard - Maximum Residue Limits for Pesticides in Foods."
7.1.3 Actual Sampling Situation
In 2014, a total of 319 batches of 6 types of organic products were randomly inspected in the circulation and production sectors. There were 271 batches in the circulation sector, accounting for 85%, including 13 batches of products sampled from online platforms and 3 batches from the import sector; 48 batches in the production sector, accounting for 15%, as shown in Figure 7-1.
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7.2 Basic Information on the 2014 Special Supervision of Organic Products
The 2014 supervision and random inspection work was conducted from August to November, lasting 4 months. A total of 319 batches of products were randomly inspected in the circulation sector (including online) and production sector. Upon verification, 305 batches were authentic and valid certified products, with a certification authenticity compliance rate (certification authenticity mainly refers to the compliance of organic products with the "Measures for the Administration of Organic Product Certification" and relevant laws and regulations during sales and circulation; non-compliant situations mainly included expired use of certificates, failure to use organic codes, suspected counterfeiting of organic codes, and failure to use certification marks as required) of 95.61%. Among them, 273 batches that obtained organic product certification were tested, with a total of 516 testing items. 270 batches passed testing, and 3 batches failed, all of which were tea, with an overall average qualification rate of 98.91% for organic certified products. During the supervision and random inspection period, 10 cases of illegal and non-compliant acts were investigated and handled, including suspected missing organic codes, expired use of certification certificates, and use of certification marks beyond scope (see Table 7-1). Overall, the problem of expired use of certificates in the circulation sector was relatively prominent, while the quality and safety level of organic products with authentic and valid certification was relatively reliable.
In 2014, for the first time, random inspections were carried out on organic products sold on online platforms. Trial sampling inspections were conducted on the quality of organic products sold on online platforms. Thirteen batches of products were sampled from shopping websites such as Yihaodian, Shanghai Oriental TV Shopping Co., Ltd., Tmall, and Taobao, including 3 batches of organic vegetable oil, 7 batches of organic tea, and 3 batches of organic fruit and vegetable juice. Among them, 3 batches did not meet certification authenticity requirements, specifically 2 batches with expired and invalid certificates and 1 batch without an organic code label. The certification authenticity compliance rate of online organic products was 76.9%, lower than that of conventional sales channels; 10 batches of products were sent for testing, and all tested products passed.
In 2014, for the first time, genetically modified content in grain products was inspected. A total of 89 batches of grain samples were collected, and 73 batches were tested for CaMV35S, NOS gene, and BT gene (rice).Өгүүлэл нь ...-аас авсанFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/mn/11573/
7.2.1 Certification Authenticity Inspection Situation
In 2014, certification authenticity inspection found 14 batches of samples that did not meet certification requirements, with a certification authenticity compliance rate of 95.61%. From the analysis of specific circumstances of certification authenticity non-compliance, expired use of certificates accounted for 50% of the total non-compliant batches, failure to use organic codes accounted for 28.6%, and suspected counterfeiting of organic codes and failure to use certification marks as required accounted for 14.3% and 7.1%, respectively. The specific proportion distribution of non-compliance reasons is shown in Figure 7-2. In terms of the distribution sector of products found with authenticity non-compliance, all 14 batches of products came from the circulation sector (Table 7-2), while among the 78 batches of samples taken in the production sector, certification authenticity was fully compliant.Өгүүлэл нь ...-аас авсанFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/mn/11573/
In terms of the categories of products found with authenticity non-compliance, among the 14 non-compliant batches of organic products, 11 batches involved tea, 2 batches involved grain products, and 1 batch involved alcoholic beverages and fruit and vegetable juice beverages. The authenticity compliance rates of these three categories of products accounted for 85.1%, 98.0%, and 97.1% of the sampled batches in their respective categories. Certification authenticity for fruits, vegetable oil, and dairy products was fully compliant (Table 7-3).Өгүүлэл нь ...-аас авсанFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/mn/11573/
In terms of the places of origin of products found with authenticity non-compliance, the 14 batches of products with certification authenticity non-compliance in this random inspection were distributed across 6 regions: Beijing, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Fujian, Heilongjiang, and Guangxi. Among them, products produced in Fujian had the highest number of non-compliant batches, at 6 batches, accounting for 42.9% of the total non-compliant batches; Guangxi had 3 non-compliant batches, accounting for 21.4%; Guangdong had 2 non-compliant batches, accounting for 14.3%; and Fujian, Heilongjiang, Beijing, and Jiangsu each had 1 batch, each accounting for 7.1% (Figure 7-3).Өгүүлэл нь ...-аас авсанFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/mn/11573/
7.2.2 Product Testing Situation
Among the 273 batches tested, 270 batches of products were found to be qualified, with a testing qualification rate of 98.91%.
From the perspective of the sector of non-qualified products, among the 3 batches of non-qualified products, 1 batch came from the circulation sector, accounting for 0.4% of the 230 batches of circulation sector products tested, and 2 batches came from the production sector (witness inspection enterprises in Yunnan Province and Sichuan Province), accounting for 4.7% of the 43 batches of circulation sector products tested (Table 7-4).Өгүүлэл нь ...-аас авсанFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/mn/11573/
From the perspective of the types of non-qualified products, all 3 batches of non-qualified products were tea. From the perspective of the places of origin of non-qualified products, the 3 batches came from Sichuan Province, Yunnan Province, and Fujian Province, each with 1 batch, accounting for 5.9%, 4.5%, and 11.1% of the tested products in the corresponding provinces, respectively. From the perspective of the certification bodies corresponding to the non-qualified products, the 3 product batches involved 2 batches from Nanjing Guohuan Organic Product Certification Center and 1 batch from Beijing Wuzhou Hengtong Certification Co., Ltd., with testing qualification rates of 94.9%
and 96%, respectively.
7.2.3 Key Analysis of Pesticide Residue Detection in Organic Tea
The non-qualified products in the 2014 supervision and random inspection were mainly organic tea products, and the non-qualified items were mainly pesticide residues. A total of 3 batches of non-qualified products were detected, all of which were tea products (Table 7-5). In 2014, 3 batches of products were detected with 2 pesticides, bifenthrin and chlorpyrifos. The types of pesticide residues detected were significantly fewer than last year, but the non-compliance rate of bifenthrin detection was still 100%.
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Based on the analysis of random inspection results of organic tea from 2008 to 2013, it was found that the pesticide residues with relatively high detection rates in tea at present are organophosphorus and pyrethroid pesticides, basically the 23 items set for this random inspection. Among them, acetamiprid, imidacloprid, bifenthrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, and endosulfan are the items most frequently detected for pesticide residues in tea. The non-qualified bifenthrin and chlorpyrifos detected in this inspection also reflect problems existing in the organic production process. It can be seen that pesticide residues are a high-risk indicator for organic tea products and require key attention.
From the perspective of regional distribution, the three non-qualified samples came from Sichuan Province, Yunnan Province, and Fujian Province, respectively. In the future, organic tea products from these regions may continue to be listed as key targets for supervision and inspection. While continuing to increase supervision, inspection, and testing of organic tea production inspections in the production and circulation sectors, it is necessary to organize experts to conduct risk assessments on the entire industrial chain of organic tea production and sales, and carry out key supervision of high-risk links; at the same time, urge local quality inspection departments to increase routine supervision efforts and require all relevant certification
bodies to increase inspection efforts, increase the proportion of unannounced inspections for enterprises in problematic regions, and provide specific work plans.
7.3 Supervision and Inspection Situation of Organic Products Over the Years
Since 2008, the Certification and Accreditation Administration has organized special supervision and inspection of organic products every year. Compared with previous years, in 2014, the qualification rates of randomly inspected grain products, dairy products, fruits, alcoholic beverages, and fruit and vegetable juice beverage products remained unchanged, all at 100%; the qualification rate of tea products increased by 7.2 percentage points compared with last year, but unlike last year, the non-qualified tea products this year included not only 1 sample from the circulation sector but also 2 samples from witness inspection enterprises in the production sector. It can be seen that the problems of organic tea products are still relatively prominent, and the use of pesticides during cultivation is the greatest risk factor in the production process of organic tea.
From the comparison of qualification rates of supervision and random inspections over the years (Figure 7-4), the qualification rates of random inspections of organic products were all higher than 95%, and the quality of organic products was relatively stable.Өгүүлэл нь ...-аас авсанFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/mn/11573/
7.4 Risk Analysis of Organic Product Quality
Through a series of measures intensively introduced by the Certification and Accreditation Administration from 2011 to 2014 to innovate supervision work mechanisms and improve effectiveness, such as issuing the "Urgent Notice on Further Standardizing Certification Activities for Organic Products and Other Food and Agricultural Products" (Guo Ren Zhu [2011] No. 70), the "Notice on Carrying Out Special Rectification Activities for Organic Product Certification Marks" (Guo Ren Zhu [2012] No. 53), and the "Notice of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and the Certification and Accreditation Administration on Further Strengthening the Supervision of Organic Products" (Guo Zhi Jian Ren Lian [2012] No. 214), the Certification and Accreditation Administration continuously carried out special supervision and inspections such as random inspections of certified products, witness inspections of certified enterprises, and grid inspections of demonstration zones for organic products. The implementation of the above series of measures further strengthened the supervision of certification activities by certification regulatory departments and the enforcement and investigation of illegal certification activities; strengthened the follow-up supervision of certified enterprises by certification bodies; strengthened the coordination and cooperation of relevant functional departments, promoted the formation of joint regulatory forces, improved certification effectiveness, and demonstrated certification credibility.
At the same time, it should also be noted that problems still exist, such as the relatively prominent phenomenon of illegal use of organic certification marks, the continued use of organic marks by enterprises related to non-qualified products in previous supervision and inspections, and the low certification authenticity rate of organic products sold on online platforms. These should be given sufficient attention in future work. The main problems are as follows.
7.4.1 The Risk of Illegal Use of Prohibited Substances Still Exists
Products sampled from the market or production sites contained residues of prohibited substances, indicating that production, processing, and sales enterprises need to strengthen risk control in process control, buffer zones, organic integrity, and other links. In particular, the high detection rate of bifenthrin in organic tea also suggests that targeted organic control methods should be seriously studied and developed for pests such as small green leafhoppers. In addition to chemical pesticides, the illegal use of herbicides and chemical fertilizers should also be included in the scope of supervision and inspection.
7.4.2 The Phenomenon of Illegal Use of Organic Certification Marks Is Relatively Prominent
The phenomenon of illegal use of organic certification marks in the circulation sector was prominent, with a certification authenticity non-compliance rate of 5.8%, of which expired use of certificates accounted for 50%, failure to use organic codes accounted for 28.6%, suspected counterfeiting of organic codes accounted for 14.3%, and failure to add certification marks accounted for 7.1%. There were 10 cases of illegal use of marks in this inspection, and 7 cases involved failure to label organic codes as required, mainly involving tea products, which urgently requires attention. At the same time, certification supervision in the circulation sector also needs sufficient attention from other regulatory departments, which should jointly assume corresponding responsibilities based on their own duties.
7.4.3 Enterprises Related to Non-Qualified Products in Previous Supervision and Inspections Continued to Use Organic Marks
In 2014, there appeared a situation in which the certification certificate of a product that failed testing last year (Anxi Yinong) was revoked, but the organic mark was still in use. It can be seen that the intensity of investigation and handling of problematic enterprises still needs to be further strengthened. It also reminds and urges local bureaus, when investigating and handling problematic enterprises, to require enterprises not only to recall the problematic batches of products but also to provide handling measures for organic products already sold that used the marks, and to carry out key supervision of such products and the units involved.
7.4.4 The Certification Authenticity Compliance Rate of Organic Products Sold on Online Platforms Is Lower Than That in Conventional Circulation Sectors
In the 2014 supervision and inspection, it was found that the certification authenticity compliance rate of organic products sold on online platforms was 76.9%, significantly lower than that in conventional circulation and production sectors. Online platforms have always been a weak link in certification supervision by the Certification and Accreditation Administration. In the future, it is still necessary to increase supervision and inspection efforts on the certification authenticity of organic products sold on online platforms.Өгүүлэл нь ...-аас авсанFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/mn/11573/