Fake organic products a blight on market that must be rooted out

VOICE OF CHINA has reported some companies in Beijing label nonorganic vegetables as organic produce. Although the Beijing municipal government has taken immediate actions to investigate the case, it exposes institutional loopholes in the supervision of the organic agriculture industry. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

Genuine organic agricultural producers must strictly follow the requirements for that designation, which adds to their operational costs. But slack supervision means nonorganic products can easily be passed off as organic.

The supervision of organic agriculture is costly for the industrial and food watchdogs, as it entails huge inputs of manpower in the supervision of the whole industrial chain, as there are requirements for almost every link of the chain, from soil to storage.

That some certified organic agricultural companies have adulterated their products means the organic agricultural products sector has reached a crucial moment, one in which the authorities must take concrete measures to keep the industry in the right order.

An important reason that even the qualified organic agricultural companies dare to take risks in doing so is that the penalties, if caught, are too light under the current laws and regulations, such that the illegal profits outweigh any loss. Before the laws and rules are amended, it will always be a cat-andmouse game.

It is difficult to obtain certification as an organic agricultural producer. But that does not mean that once they have issued the certification, the authorities can ignore their supervisory obligations. It is suggested that the commerce, food safety and agricultural administrative departments organize more spot tests in the market. If a company fails to pass the test, its certification should be revoked. Retailers caught selling fake organic produce should also be punished.

The attacks by the dog caused panic among parents who brought sticks with them when sending children to school, until the local police caught the dog two days later.

Some blame stray dogs for attacking people, but it is those who abandon their pets that should be blamed. Data show that from 2007 to October 2015, for example, the police in Nanjing, East China’s Jiangsu province, impounded over 30,000 stray dogs, most of which had been abandoned by their owners.

Such a large number of stray dogs pose huge risks to human health and security. In 2017 alone, more than 500 persons nationwide died of rabies, the majority of which were bitten by stray dogs.

The Tort Liability Law, which came into effect in 2010, clearly states that the former owners should be held answerable for any harm done by their abandoned pets. However, in reality, owners that discard their pets always refuse to recognize the latter when they cause damage, and it is difficult to prove their ownership. As a result, in most of the cases of stray dogs attacking people, the owners were not held accountable.

In order to put an end to this, it is necessary to regulate the behaviors of dog owners first. Those who raise pets must register them with the local police.

Various cities have made it clear that it is illegal to discard pets, but the penalties for such deeds are rather light, and there is no specific department to enforce the local regulations. It is necessary to raise the penalties and more strictly implement the regulations so that no one dares to abandon their pets.