中国收紧对国外乳制品企业的监管

Italian dairy giant Parmalat has become the latest western company to fall foul of China’s food safety rules with regulators suspending the licence it needs to import fresh milk produced by its Australian subsidiary.

意大利乳业巨头帕玛拉特(Parmalat)成为最近一家违反中国食品安全规定的西方企业，中国监管部门暂停了帕玛拉特从其澳大利亚子公司进口鲜奶到中国所需的许可证。

It follows Beijing’s suspension last week of an import licence for an infant formula factory owned by Australian dairy company Bellamy’s — moves that experts say highlight a tougher regulatory environment for overseas companies that have cashed-in on Chinese fears about the quality of domestic milk for over a decade.

此前，北京方面刚刚暂停了澳大利亚乳业公司贝拉米(Bellamy's)旗下一家婴幼儿配方奶粉工厂的进口许可证——专家称，这些举动突显出海外企业在中国正面临更严格的监管环境。过去10多年，由于中国人对国产牛奶质量感到担忧，海外乳品企业在中国赚了不少钱。

Faced with a surge in imports following a scandal in which Chinese milk was deliberately adulterated with the coal-byproduct melamine, leaving 300,000 infants ill and six dead, Beijing has progressively tightened its food safety requirements.

面对一起丑闻后乳制品进口激增的情况，北京方面逐步收紧了食品安全要求。那起丑闻指的是，中国的牛奶中被人故意掺入三聚氰胺，结果造成30万名婴幼儿患病、6名婴幼儿死亡。

“In a way to boost the safety of infant formula products and rebuild consumer trust, the Chinese government has introduced these policies to raise the bar for regulatory compliance and market access,” said Chemlinked Food, a consultancy based in the city of Hangzhou. “Smaller brands are inevitably pushed out of the equation.”

“为了提高婴幼儿配方产品的安全性并重新赢得消费者信任，中国政府出台了这些政策，抬高了监管合规和市场准入门槛，”位于杭州的咨询机构Chemlinked Food表示，“较小的品牌不可避免地会被排挤出局。”

Angeline Achariya, chief executive of the Food Innovation Centre at Monash University, said: “The Chinese food safety regulatory environment is complex — rules can change rapidly and we have found different standards can sometimes apply depending on which port a company uses to import products.”

莫纳什大学(Monash University)食品创新中心(Food Innovation Centre)首席执行官安杰琳?阿查里亚(Angeline Achariya)表示：“中国食品安全监管环境很复杂——规则飘忽不定，我们发现，监管部门有时会根据企业从哪个港口进口产品而采用不同的标准。”

The Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China (CNCA) — which supervises the importation of food products — ordered the suspension of Parmalat’s licence to export from its fresh milk factory in South Australia.

中国国家认证认可监督管理委员会(CNCA)——监督食物产品进口的部门——下令暂停帕玛拉特从其位于南澳大利亚的鲜奶工厂对华出口的许可证。

Following an audit of the facility, regulators expressed concern about the high temperatures that Parmalat was exposing its milk to during a “heat treatment” process and questioned whether it could be labelled as “fresh milk” in China.

在对该鲜奶工厂进行审查后，监管人员表达了对帕玛拉特在“热处理”流程中把其牛奶暴露在高温下的担忧，并质疑这在中国是否能被标为“鲜奶”。

Parmalat said it was confident it could meet the CNCA requirements and have its licence restored, reported The Australian, which broke the story.

最初曝出该事件的《澳大利亚人报》(The Australian)报道称，帕玛拉特表示有信心满足中国认监委的要求并重新获得许可证。

Australia has become an attractive location for food companies seeking to export products into China following Canberra’s inking of a free-trade deal with Beijing in 2015. This agreement is progressively cutting import tariffs on goods but it has not removed all of the regulatory hurdles that can make it difficult to do business with China.

在2015年堪培拉方面与北京方面签署自由贸易协定后，澳大利亚已成为寻求向中国出口产品的食品企业眼中一个诱人的出口基地。这份协定将逐步降低商品进口关税，但并未移除阻碍与中国做生意的所有监管障碍。

Bellamy’s is hopeful the CNCA will lift the suspension of the licence it needs to export formula from its Camperdown Powder facility. Australian trade officials have held talks with CNCA representatives, who have asked Bellamy’s to provide information about its operation by July 15.

贝拉米希望中国认监委能够取消暂停其许可证的决定，为了从它的坎珀当奶粉(Camperdown Powder)工厂对华出口奶粉，它需要这个许可证。澳大利亚贸易官员已与中国认监委代表举行会谈，后者要求贝拉米在7月15日前提供其经营信息。

Bellamy’s said the CNCA made its inquiries as a result of allegations received from a third-party complainant, as well as “previous quality issues” related to the Camperdown processing facility.

贝拉米表示，中国认监委进行调查是因为收到第三方投诉者的指控、以及之前与坎珀当加工厂有关的“质量问题”。

International dairy producers are scrambling to meet an end-of-year deadline to register their products with the China Food and Drug Administration. Companies will only be allowed to register a maximum of three brands in China, to prevent a proliferation of foreign brands crowding out domestic ones weakened by the 2008 melamine scandal.

国际乳制品生产商正竞相赶在年底的最后期限前，在中国国家食品药品监督管理总局(CFDA)注册其产品。每家企业在中国最多只能注册3个品牌，以防外国品牌的涌入把因2008年三聚氰胺丑闻而疲软的国产品牌挤出市场。

“Global infant formula companies are racing to finalise their dossiers and submit to CFDA [China Food and Drug Administration] but face significant challenges to the stringent requirements,” Chemlinked added. “Clearly due diligence regarding China regulatory compliance should not be underestimated.”

“全球婴幼儿配方奶粉企业正在竞相备齐材料提交给国家食药监局，但严格的要求给它们带来了重大挑战，”Chemlinked补充称，“显然不应低估与中国监管合规有关的尽职调查的重要性。”