IT was a big day for Shanghai’s dogs and cats yesterday, although the significance might just have been lost on them.
A batch of chicken, mutton and beef snacks for domestic pets, shipped from New Zealand, became the first beneficiary of a pilot scheme for pet food.
This allows samples of pet food sent by boat to be transported by air to the city in order that they can be lab-tested, clearing the way for the bulk of the order that comes by sea to go to the market.
The aim is to hasten the inspection process, the Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau said.
The New Zealand snacks sent by boat, valued at about US$27,000, passed examination by inspection and quarantine officials at the Shanghai Yangshan Deep-Water Port and were approved for official entry into China. The process was at least 10 days quicker than usual, the bureau said.
Under normal procedures, the imports should be stored in warehouses while lab tests are carried out, but now companies can save both time and storage costs as they won’t have to wait for test reports after the pet food arrives by ship as samples sent by air will have been carried out in advance.
Currently, pet foods are among just a few products eligible for the pilot scheme, which was started in June last year with imported formula milk powder and clothes.
The bureau said such products were usually prepackaged with specific batch numbers so that it was easier to ensure samples were all from the same production batch.
Furthermore, the risk related to animals and plants in pet foods is considered much lower than other food products. The new scheme also includes random inspections of pet food sent by boat.
About US$5-6 million worth of pet food is imported into Shanghai ports every year.
