Third-party certification of agro-products in China: a study of agro-product producers in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Qingdao.

摘要

This paper reports on agro-product quality and safety and 3rd-party certification among food producers in 4 Chinese cities (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Qingdao). Based on data and information from surveys and interviews, it analyses the development and existing problems of 3rd-party certification of agro-products in China. The article concludes by recognizing that the improvement of 3rd party certification for agro-products needs concerted efforts toward management improvement and professional capacity building by certification bodies, increased scale, quality improvement and cultivation of markets for certified products.