Food Law

Food incidents in late 1990s drew attention to the need to establish general principles and more strict guidelines concerning production and distribution of food and feed. Accordingly, food and feed laws started to blossom in the most advanced countries.

Nowadays food safety has become a top priority for most of governments in the world. Food regulatory is increasingly stringent and is undergoing a huge process of upgrading and restructuring. In China and Asia-Pacific, differences in the regulations as well as in the enforcement can be substantial, and food companies need to carefully assess what they can do and how.

After too many serious food scandals, the Chinese government has increased the typical consumer’s protection. They have implemented strict laws providing for punitive damages, whistle-blowers rewards, joint-liabilities among operators at various levels of the food chain – growers, producers, traders, advertisers.

This motivates consumers in targeting non-compliant products (even for minor issues such as typos on labels) in bulk and claiming damages – for up to 10 times the paid price – or rewards from authorities. In the case of food products being distributed in various cities of China, the risk is being challenged in each city.

Compliance with all of these regulations is where HFG can help you take the lead over your competitors, avoid fines, media attention and loss of reputation.

HFG Key services

• Food regulatory compliance validation
• Food advertising/marketing validation
• Label verification
• Label preparation
• Crisis management/government relationship (MSA, NHC, General Customs)