World Bank approves $400m loan to improve food safety in China

The World Bank has approved a $400m loan for the China Food Safety Improvement Project to help improve food safety management.

The loan will be used to reduce food safety risks in selected value chains.

World Bank China country director Martin Raiser said: “By taking an integrated and risk-based approach, consistent with global good practices, this project can help China mitigate the public health risks and reduce the economic and environmental costs associated with unsafe food production, processing and trading practices.

“Because China is a major food exporter and a hotspot for the emergence of food-borne diseases, the project carries important global benefits.”

According to the World Bank, the pandemic has aggravated food safety challenges in the country, especially in the sectors such as processing, packaging, and transporting agricultural products.

It is estimated that improving food safety in China could minimise food loss and wastage, in addition to generating large climate co-benefits.

The China Food Safety Improvement Project aims to bolster food safety regulations, enforcement and compliance along selected value chains, including seafood, pork, fruit and vegetables, as well as ensure that they are consistent with global practices.

Additionally, the project will promote scientific and evidence-based enforcement of food safety regulations at the provincial and municipal levels using risk-based approaches.

The World Bank said that the project will help and support farms and food enterprises to improve compliance with food safety regulations and achieve food safety certification standards.

The project will be implemented at the national level and provincial levels by China’s State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) and by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Areas (MARA).