Viewpoint: How to define edible agricultural products?

The second paragraph of Article 2 of the "Food Safety Law" (2009 edition) stipulates that edible agricultural products refer to primary products derived from agriculture for consumption.
The quality and safety management of these products shall comply with the provisions of the "Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Law", but relevant edible agricultural products are formulated The relevant provisions of the Food Safety Law shall be complied with in accordance with the quality and safety standards and the publication of relevant information on the safety of edible agricultural products
.
The "Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Law" defines agricultural products as primary products derived from agriculture, that is, plants, animals, microorganisms and their products obtained in agricultural activities
.

 
Do primary products derived from agriculture include products that have undergone primary processing? How to distinguish between primary processing and processing of agricultural products? How to accurately define edible agricultural products? These issues have always plagued law enforcement officials, and there are three different opinions in practice
.

 
The first opinion is that edible agricultural products include products that have undergone rough processing or primary processing
.
For example, Article 2 of the Measures of Hubei Province for the Implementation of the “Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products” stipulates that agricultural products refer to grain, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits, tea, fungi, livestock, poultry and eggs obtained from agricultural activities.
, Dairy products, aquatic products, bee products and other plant, animal, and microbial products, as well as rough processing such as cleaning, sorting, waxing, drying, shelling, cutting, grading, packaging, freezing, etc.
, but the basic natural properties are not changed And chemical products
.
According to the first paragraph of Article 2 of the "Administrative Regulations on the Labeling of Edible Agricultural Products of Guangdong Province," edible agricultural products refer to agricultural products that have not been processed or have only undergone primary processing such as sorting, drying, crushing, division, preservation, and packaging.
Edible plants, animals, microorganisms and their products, including grains, vegetables, fruits, dried fruits, bamboo shoots, livestock and poultry, meat, milk, eggs, honey, aquatic products and edible fungi and other products
.

 
The second opinion believes that the scope of edible agricultural products should be defined in accordance with the "Notes on the Scope of Edible Agricultural Products" attached to the "Notice on the Pilot Program of Chain Operation of Agricultural Products" by the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance, and the State Administration of Taxation
.
The "Notes on the Scope of Edible Agricultural Products" defines edible agricultural products as edible plants, animal husbandry, fishery products and their primary processed products, and also lists products such as rice, flour, rice noodles, pine egg, pickles and processed honey.
Into it
.
The "Guiding Opinions on Issues Related to the Licensing of Edible Agricultural Products" formulated by the Food Circulation Supervision Department of a provincial Bureau of Industry and Commerce holds this view
.

 
The third opinion is that the primary processing behavior of agricultural products should be defined in accordance with the national standard "Classification and Code of National Economic Industries"
.
The behavior of the initial processing of agricultural products is regulated by the "Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Law
.
" According to the "Classification and Code of National Economic Industries" for the 0512 category "Agricultural Product Primary Processing Services", the primary processing of agricultural products refers to the removal and purification of various agricultural products (including textile fiber raw materials) harvested by farmer households or purchasing units.
, Sorting, sun-drying, peeling, retting or bulk packaging to provide service activities in the primary market, as well as the primary processing activities of other agricultural products
.
The Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision Office "Notice on Working Requirements Related to Food Production Licensing" (Zhe Zhi Ban Fa [2009] No.
81) holds this view
.

 
The author believes that none of the above opinions considered the legislative background of the "Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Law" and the division of labor between the "Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Law" and the "Product Quality Law" in terms of adjustment objects
.
Normative documents such as "Notes on the Scope of Edible Agricultural Products", "Notes on the Scope of Taxation of Agricultural Products", and "Scope of Primary Processing of Agricultural Products Enjoying Preferential Corporate Income Tax Policies (for Trial Implementation)" are used to determine tax items and tax rates and cannot be used to define "Agricultural Products" Agricultural products or edible agricultural products referred to in the Quality Safety Law and the Food Safety Law
.
The author believes that any product that can be recognized as a product adjusted by the Product Quality Law is not an agricultural product or edible agricultural product as referred to in the Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Law and the Food Safety Law
.

 
The "Product Quality Law" does not distinguish between processing and preliminary processing.
As long as the shape, nature, and state of raw materials or original products are changed mechanically or manually, they are all processing and manufacturing referred to in the law
.
However, if only simple processing of agricultural products is carried out for use or sale, and is regarded as one of the harvest links of agricultural production according to custom, the products after such simple processing are still regarded as agricultural products or edible agricultural products referred to in the "Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Law"
.

 
　　The second paragraph of Article 2 of the "Product Quality Law" passed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in 1993 stipulates that products refer to products that have been processed and manufactured for sale
.
When the Product Quality Law was revised in 2000, this paragraph was not revised
.
The “Interpretation of Articles of the Product Quality Law” issued by the former State Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision in June 1993 with the Bureau of Technical Supervision [1993] Document No.
345 explained that the scope of this article is that the scope of products adjusted by this law includes the purpose of sales.
Articles with specific performance properties obtained through industrial processing, hand-made and other production methods
.
The "Interpretation of the Product Quality Law" published on the National People’s Congress website also believes that after processing, that is, the raw materials and semi-finished products that have been processed and manufactured to change their shape, nature, and state are called products; all kinds of products are directly taken from the natural world without Processed and produced products, such as seed cotton, rice, wheat, vegetables, raised fish and shrimp and other primary products of planting and breeding industries, and crude oil and raw coal in mining industry directly mined raw ore without refining, washing and processing Products, etc.
, are not applicable to the provisions of this law
.

 
　　The original National Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision [1994] Technical Supervision Law No.
093 Document No.
093 on "Whether the logs fall within the scope of adjustment of the Product Quality Law" stated that after the trees are felled, they are processed in accordance with the specifications stipulated in the standard and are processed according to the specifications stipulated by the standard.
Different materials, diameter grades, and length grades are classified and stored, which fall within the scope of adjustment of the "Product Quality Law"
.
The Bureau [1995] Technical Supervision Law No.
011 Document No.
011 on "Whether the sale of moldy corn in corn is within the scope of the adjustment of the Product Quality Law" stated that the composition and content of the original product were changed after manual blending.
Or performance, should be regarded as processed and manufactured products, subject to the "Product Quality Law" adjustments
.

 
　　Obviously, the "Product Quality Law" does not distinguish between processing and preliminary processing.
As long as the shape, nature, and state of raw materials or original products are changed mechanically or manually, they are all processing and manufacturing referred to in the law, including peeling and trimming trees.
And saw segments, blended agricultural products, etc. .
Of course, in order to facilitate the use or sale, it is customarily regarded as one of the harvesting links of agricultural production, and the plants, animals, microorganisms and their natural products directly harvested in agricultural production activities such as planting and breeding, harvesting, harvesting, harvesting, etc.
Cleaning, sorting, packaging, sun-drying, grain threshing, plant cutting, freezing and other simple treatments at the fishing site of aquatic products, and ripening of fruits are not regarded as processing and production as referred to in the "Product Quality Law".
Products that are simply processed are still regarded as agricultural products or edible agricultural products in the "Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Law"
.

 
　　In other words, according to the "Classification and Code of National Economic Industries", the agricultural and sideline product processing industry (including grain dehulling, milling and finishing, production of fats from vegetable oils, slaughter of livestock and poultry, frozen processing of aquatic products, and aquatic products) Dry pickling processing, the use of dehydration, drying, refrigeration, freezing, pickling and other methods to process vegetables, fruits, nuts, etc.
), whether it is manufactured by power machinery or by hand, has undergone physical or chemical changes.
The products belong to the processing and production referred to in the "Product Quality Law", and the products produced no longer belong to the agricultural products or edible agricultural products referred to in the "Agricultural Product Quality Safety Law"
.

 
　　In the "Classification and Code of National Economic Industries", the 0512 "primary processing services of agricultural products" are not classified as agricultural production activities, but as agricultural services that provide support services to agricultural production activities
.
In the "Classification and Code of National Economic Industries" applicable before 2002, the agricultural service industry does not include the service of primary processing of agricultural products
.
The fourth chapter of the "Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Law", "Agricultural Product Production", also does not clearly stipulate the initial processing of agricultural products
.

 
　　Therefore, the primary processing of agricultural products should be treated differently, and neither can it be recognized as agricultural production activities across the board, nor can it be recognized across the board as processing and production as referred to in the Product Quality Law
.
If only the simple processing of agricultural products for use or sale is regarded as one of the harvesting links of agricultural production according to custom, the products after such simple processing are still regarded as agricultural products or edible agricultural products in the "Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Law", applicable "Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Law" instead of "Product Quality Law"
.
If the initial processing of agricultural products is not traditionally regarded as the harvesting link of agricultural production, but is sufficient to be recognized as processing and production as referred to in the "Product Quality Law", the products after such initial processing do not belong to the "Agricultural Product Quality Safety Law" "Agricultural products or edible agricultural products", but should be subject to the "Product Quality Law" or "Food Safety Law" for supervision and management.
Other laws and administrative regulations related to dairy products, genetically modified foods, pig slaughter, alcohol and salt If there are special regulations, follow the regulations
.