Chinese infant formula registration 'very intense'

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An Australian infant formula company says obtaining registration for the Chinese market was ‘very intense’.
One of two Australian companies successful in gaining access to China’s newly regulated infant formula market has described the registration process as ‘extremely intense’.
Chinese authorities have enforced tight measures to stop the flood of imported infant formula, with some Australian companies having their exports temporarily ceased due to the new conditions.
Australian Dairy Park is one of two local companies to have obtained registration, but general manager Ken Thomas says it was an arduous process.
“It was extremely intense,” said Mr Thomas.
“It was a very thorough audit, from traceability all the way through the system.”
Australian Dairy Park primarily packs infant formula and nutritional powder in Melbourne’s south-eastern fringe.
The company is owned by Chinese investors and the China infant formula market has been the central focus of its plant since opening in late 2013.
It sources product from major dairy co-operative Murray Goulburn, whose own brand of infant formula was the only other local label apparently successful in gaining Chinese registration.
Mr Thomas says Australian Dairy Park was able to spend three months preparing for its audit prior to the Chinese Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA) issuing its worldwide registration of infant formula companies on May 1.
“The actual audit itself was a fairly intense one-day audit. It was really three months of solid work before the audit,” said Mr Thomas.
“So the period between the start of this year and March was primarily not spent on manufacture but on preparing ourselves for registration.”
Mr Thomas acknowledges it would be difficult for a more established infant formula company to allocate the time and resources to prepare for the registration process.
“The difficulty for existing plants is not only the audit process but the facility itself.
“You have to show that you have hygiene standards that meet the Chinese requirements,” said Mr Thomas.
“A lot of infant formula manufacturers that have been around for a while may not meet those hygiene requirements.”
He cites traceability as one of the key requirements of the new Chinese regulations.
“You have to show that you have very, very robust quality systems in place and you have to show that there is a link between your manufacturer, the brand that you’re packing and the importer in China as well, so you have full traceability.
“If you want to be in the Chinese market, those are the rules that are imposed by the importing country.
“You have to make a decision whether you really you want to be in that market or not.”
 
Source: Radio Australia

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Así lo expresó Domingo Possetto, secretario de la seccional Rafaela, quien además, afirmó que a los productores «habitualmente los ignoran los gobiernos». Además, reconoció la labor de los empresarios de las firmas locales y aseguró que están «esperanzados» con la negociación entre SanCor y Adecoagro.

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