Various articles including Washington Post, LA Times, etc.

From what I read:

1. Inside China, giving access to the US is seen as a major concession.
2. Only a limited amount of food and drugs are covered by the agreement. This will require licensing of the companies exporting. Before, there was no license required to export. Basically the areas that have had the most issues have been covered, such as pet food ingredients.
3. Food production is a cottage industry, so there are questions if it's even possible for China to regulate this area.
4. Regional differences in interpretation of the standards will be a challenge.
5. Best quote so far "They have got a good framework, but if the agreement is not policed adequately both in China and at our ports of entry, it won't be worth much more than the paper it's written on," said Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest in the LA Times.
6. Questions on if the FDA has enough resources to make the agreement work.

Labels: china food safety