Over the last several years, China has continued to overhaul and update its regulatory system for domestic & imported foods and agricultural products. The government has published new measures to regulate imports and modernise its food and agricultural standards, notably the food additive standard. China has issued or modified hundreds of food & agriculture related regulations and standards following its accession to the WTO in December 2001. However, inconsistencies between Chinese food standards and international standards still remain. 

The Ministry of Health under the State Council is responsible for overall coordination of food safety, food safety assessment, food safety standards development, food safety information dissemination, development of the qualification requirements and inspection regulations for food inspection and testing agencies and addressing serious food safety occurrences.  According to the law and the responsibilities specified by the State Council, the following departments: General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of PRC (AQSIQ), State Administration for Industry & Commerce of PRC (SAIC) State Food & Drug Administration of PRC (SFDA) are responsible for the supervision and managment of food production, distribution and catering services respectively. 

Note: Mandatory standards are prefixed "GB". Recommended standards "GB/T". A Standard number follows "GB" or "GB/T". To check for updated Standards, always refer to the numbers attached to the GB  or GB/T then the most recent year.