Improving info release
By Cao Xumin and Yuan Jigang (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-01-03 10:15

Information about food security should be spread in an accurate and detailed way, says an article in Beijing News. An excerpt follows:

In the latest inspection of edible oil by the Ministry of Health, 52 kinds of products among the selected 574 samples tested as substandard. The 52 that failed to meet State standards include some famous domestic brands, such as Arawana, Fulinmen and Jinxiang.

This information about substandarded edible oil is like a bomb thrown in the market.

On one hand, supermarkets quickly removed these brands of edible oil from the shelves; on the other hand, producers of these brands became eager to prove the information was not accurate.

The most puzzled are the consumers.

After all, those brands have enjoyed a high reputation in China for years. Now they are confirmed as substandard. Consumers could not accept the result.

Nowadays, when the public does not necessarily feel comfortable about the quality of food, it is good to see the Ministry of Health can timely release the results of quality inspections. However, it is also worrying that the information issued by the ministry has been distorted by some media.

In line with the Ministry of Health, the substandard edible oil was only limited to products from certain dates and with certain packaging.

Take the soybean salad oil of Fulinmen for example. The problem oil is just the batch produced on November 2, 2003, in the 1.8-litre bottle produced by the Tianjin-based factory. All other oils, except for this batch, were qualified.

It is a pity that such detailed and important information has been neglected by the media and the public.

Some media only reported the brand name and connected it to the failed test. This misled the public into thinking all their products are substandard, causing panic among producers and consumers. As a result, the reputation built by these enterprises through years of efforts could have been destroyed, resulting in reduced production and sales of their edible oil.

The enterprises should pay a price for any losses consumers face due to their substandard products, but that price should be in line with their actual faults.

The substandard products account for a very small part of the entire production.

If the enterprises are driven to bankruptcy due to the small batch, the price is too high.

When food security becomes increasingly worrying, the inspection and disclosure of problem food should be strengthened. But considering protection of the interests of both consumers and producers, information should be spread in an accurate and detailed way.

Meanwhile, after inspection results are released, it is better to publicize the measures of how to deal with substandard products, such as recalling them and suspending sales.

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