Regulations On Agricultural Product Packaging

Article 28 of the *Law on Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products* stipulates: "Agricultural products sold by agricultural product production enterprises, farmers' professional cooperative economic organizations, or entities or individuals engaged in the procurement of agricultural products-where such products are required by regulations to be packaged or labeled-must be packaged or labeled prior to sale. The packaging or labels must indicate, in accordance with regulations, the product name, place of origin, producer, date of production, shelf life, and product quality grade; if additives are used, the names of the additives must also be indicated in accordance with regulations. Specific measures shall be formulated by the competent agricultural administrative department under the State Council."
(1) Agricultural product production enterprises, farmers' professional cooperative economic organizations, and entities or individuals engaged in the procurement of agricultural products are required by law to fulfill packaging or labeling obligations. No packaging or labeling requirements are imposed on agricultural products produced and sold directly by individual farming households.
(2) Agricultural products required by the Ministry of Agriculture to be packaged or labeled may only be sold on the market after such packaging or labeling has been completed; products that are unpackaged or unlabeled are not permitted for sale on the market.
(3) Products offered for sale must bear packaging or labels indicating the product name, place of origin, producer, date of production, shelf life, product quality grade, and other required information.
(4) If additives have been used during the packaging, preservation, storage, or transportation of agricultural products, the names of the additives used must be indicated.
(5) The packaging and labeling of agricultural products involve complex considerations, and the implementation of packaging and labeling requirements for market-bound agricultural products is a process requiring classified management and a step-by-step approach. Consequently, this Law sets forth only general principles regarding the entities responsible for packaging or labeling and the products subject to these requirements. The Law authorizes the competent agricultural administrative department under the State Council to formulate separate measures specifying the scope, target products, and implementation steps for packaging and labeling.