According to China's Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), news from the opening ceremony of the special campaign on feed quality and safety has confirmed that in the coming year, the Ministry will continue with its campaign on feed quality and safety, by relying on strengthening standardised management of producers, and highlighting the monitoring on raw materials and the illegal use of additives in animal husbandry.

The threshold of market access will be further lifted up through efforts to promote good practices, foster law enforcement and crack down on the use of banned chemicals. MOA will also work hard to improve the competence of professionals in this field, improve law enforcement and enhance the quality and safety of livestock products.

In 2009, the influence of the melamine incident, the impact of the international financial crisis and the challenge to stabilise animal husbandry production led administrative departments on feed at all levels to carry out the special campaign on feed quality and safety, enhancing daily administration and handling emergencies. As a result, feed quality and the safety of animal husbandry production were greatly improved. Qualification rate of feed products stood at 90.9 per cent, up by 2.3 percentage points year-on-year, and 99.3 per cent for specific tests on melamine, up by 3.3 percentage points from the previous year. The detected rate of clenbuterol hydrochloride in feed has been zero for five consecutive years, and less than 0.05 per cent in the animal production sector. The output of feed in 2009 broke a new record to over 140 million tons.

Wang Zongli, Deputy Director-General of MOA Department of Animal Husbandry, stressed that in this year's campaign, administrative departments at all levels should lay emphasis on both short-term effects and long-term working mechanisms, to improve accountability, innovation, market access, supply capacity and development planning.