Chinese Law on Foods and Medicines (Anu Lähteenmäki-Uutela)
The article discusses Chinese law on foods and medicines. Law on safety and marketing of consumer products may be categorised as consumer law. On foods, the basic law is the food safety law of 2009. Novel foods are governed by the 2007 regulation and health foods by the regulation from 1996. Nutrition labeling was regulated in 2008. Medicines are divided in traditional Chinese medicines and modern medicines. Basically, the same law applies. China is putting effort into developing Chinese medicine also for import, and also new regulation on scientific substantiation of traditional medicines is on the way. Medicine advertising is under tightening control. On surface, Chinese laws are similar to Western ones. However, the legal system is heavily influenced by Chinese history and culture. Previously, resorting to law was seen as something to be avoided. The shift to rule of law is slow and closely linked to economy. It is difficult to control food and medicine business in a country as vast and diverse as China. China now needs to focus on the execution of laws, particularly at the local level.
