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New food safety and foreign currency regulations

Several regulations took effect on Aug 1, including the latest version of the National Food Safety Standard on Maximum Residue Limits for Pesticides in Food.

This regulation sets the maximum residue limit of 387 kinds of pesticides in 284 kinds of food - and the acceptable daily intake of the residue.

The new standard sets limits concerning pesticide residue in 115 kinds of vegetables and 85 kinds of fruits, as well as cereals, oil, sugar, beverages, condiments, nuts, edible fungi, cattle meat, eggs and poultry meat.

It is also the first time the standard sets limit on the residue of pesticides allowed in processed product such as juice and preserved or candied fruit.

There are 3,650 indexes in the standard, including 1,999 with limits set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission - which was established by the FAO and WHO in 1963, to “develop international food standards, guidelines and codes of practice to protect the health of the consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade.”

A total of 1,811 - or 91 percent - of the 1,999 indexes are as strict as or stricter than the standard set in the Codex Alimentarius.

The People’s Bank of China’s new regulations on the Management of Banking Business of Buying and Selling Foreign Exchange also took effect on Aug 1.

The new regulations replace a set of temporary regulations on the management of buying and selling foreign exchange by designated forex banks - and lower the threshold for banks to enter the foreign exchange market by abolishing some of the administrative licensing activities and qualification requirements.

The new regulations focus more on supervising the market than on the procedure of licensing institutions to enter the market - and thus give banks more freedom.

They divide the business of purchasing and selling foreign currencies into two categories: spot transaction, and transaction of Renminbi and foreign exchange derivatives.

The regulations also make it clear that banks can apply to do both spot transaction and derivatives transaction.

Some financial institutions that were formerly unqualified will enter the foreign exchange market. The central bank and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange aim to implement more regulations on the banking business of buying and selling foreign currencies.

In addition, the revised Law of Protection of Military Facilities also took effect on Aug 1.

The revised law stipulates that relevant military departments and governments above the county level - located in areas where there are military facilities - should establish a system to work together to ensure the safety of the facilities.

it also stipulates that any authorities responsible for military facilities should apply for approval from the State Council and the Central Military Commission - or from departments authorized by these two organizations - if they wish to dismantle facilities or transform them for civilian use, due to environmental damage or other damage caused by natural factors.

The law criminalizes behavior, such as causing severe damage affecting the military electromagnetic environment and severely disrupting military radio communication. And it also criminalizes behavior that severely disrupts the order of military restricted zones and military management zones - and acts that impact the safety of military facilities.