SHANGHAI — In an effort to reassure American consumers about the safety of food and medicine made in China, U.S. and Chinese officials signed agreements Tuesday giving U.S. officials a stronger hand in screening Chinese exports.
But consumer groups and lawmakers in Washington pointed out that the two agreements covered only a small number of products. And the success of the new regulatory effort depends on whether Chinese officials can get producers to meet U.S. safety standards and whether thinly stretched U.S. government agencies can ensure that China keeps its promises.
"Today's agreement applies only to a tiny fraction of the food we import from China," said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.). "And while it can be expanded, it doesn't cover nearly enough products to restore our confidence in Chinese goods."
Some American consumers have grown wary of the "Made in China" label after a series of safety problems, including tainted pet food ingredients, lead paint in toys, defective automobile tires and toothpaste laced with an antifreeze ingredient. Chinese officials are concerned that their export-driven economy will suffer as a result.
The pacts, signed in Beijing ahead of high-level economic talks today, require companies that export certain foods and medicines to the United States to register with China's food and drug watchdog agencies and agree to annual inspections. The U.S. government will maintain an online list of registered exporters.
China also will implement new certification and testing systems to ensure that shipments meet U.S. standards.
The foods covered are canned vegetables and other preserved fare, pet food and treats, raw materials such as wheat and rice protein used in a wide variety of products, and farm-raised fish and shellfish.
Covered medicine includes some antibiotics, a cholesterol-lowering drug, generic Viagra, human growth hormone and an antiviral drug. Some of these goods have come under scrutiny in the past after they were found to be contaminated with unsafe or unapproved additives. Other products can be added by mutual agreement.
Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said China agreed to help facilitate timely inspection of manufacturing sites by Food and Drug Administration inspectors.
This spring, after thousands of dogs and cats in the U.S. were sickened by bad pet food ingredients traced to China, Chinese officials were said to have initially resisted the FDA's bid to inspect the facility that produced some of the goods.
