中國收緊對國外乳製品企業的監管

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.

意大利乳業巨頭帕瑪拉特(Parmalat)成爲最近一家違反中國食品安全規定的西方企業，中國監管部門暫停了帕瑪拉特從其澳大利亞子公司進口鮮奶到中國所需的許可證。

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，北京方面剛剛暫停了澳大利亞乳業公司貝拉米(Bellamy's)旗下一家嬰幼兒配方奶粉工廠的進口許可證——專家稱，這些舉動突顯出海外企業在中國正面臨更嚴格的監管環境。過去10多年，由於中國人對國產牛奶質量感到擔憂，海外乳品企業在中國賺了不少錢。

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.

面對一起醜聞後乳製品進口激增的情況，北京方面逐步收緊了食品安全要求。那起醜聞指的是，中國的牛奶中被人故意摻入三聚氰胺，結果造成30萬名嬰幼兒患病、6名嬰幼兒死亡。

“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.”

“爲了提高嬰幼兒配方產品的安全性並重新贏得消費者信任，中國政府出臺了這些政策，擡高了監管合規和市場準入門檻，”位於杭州的諮詢機構Chemlinked Food表示，“較小的品牌不可避免地會被排擠出局。”

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.”

莫納什大學(Monash University)食品創新中心(Food Innovation Centre)首席執行官安傑琳?阿查里亞(Angeline Achariya)表示：“中國食品安全監管環境很複雜——規則飄忽不定，我們發現，監管部門有時會根據企業從哪個港口進口產品而採用不同的標準。”

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.

中國國家認證認可監督管理委員會(CNCA)——監督食物產品進口的部門——下令暫停帕瑪拉特從其位於南澳大利亞的鮮奶工廠對華出口的許可證。

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.

在對該鮮奶工廠進行審查後，監管人員表達了對帕瑪拉特在“熱處理”流程中把其牛奶暴露在高溫下的擔憂，並質疑這在中國是否能被標爲“鮮奶”。

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

最初曝出該事件的《澳大利亞人報》(The Australian)報道稱，帕瑪拉特表示有信心滿足中國認監委的要求並重新獲得許可證。

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年堪培拉方面與北京方面簽署自由貿易協定後，澳大利亞已成爲尋求向中國出口產品的食品企業眼中一個誘人的出口基地。這份協定將逐步降低商品進口關稅，但並未移除阻礙與中國做生意的所有監管障礙。

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.

貝拉米希望中國認監委能夠取消暫停其許可證的決定，爲了從它的坎珀當奶粉(Camperdown Powder)工廠對華出口奶粉，它需要這個許可證。澳大利亞貿易官員已與中國認監委代表舉行會談，後者要求貝拉米在7月15日前提供其經營信息。

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.

貝拉米表示，中國認監委進行調查是因爲收到第三方投訴者的指控、以及之前與坎珀當加工廠有關的“質量問題”。

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.

國際乳製品生產商正競相趕在年底的最後期限前，在中國國家食品藥品監督管理總局(CFDA)註冊其產品。每家企業在中國最多隻能註冊3個品牌，以防外國品牌的涌入把因2008年三聚氰胺醜聞而疲軟的國產品牌擠出市場。

“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.”

“全球嬰幼兒配方奶粉企業正在競相備齊材料提交給國家食藥監局，但嚴格的要求給它們帶來了重大挑戰，”Chemlinked補充稱，“顯然不應低估與中國監管合規有關的盡職調查的重要性。”