NATIONAL STANDARD 

OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA 

中华人民共和国国家标准 

GB 14881-2013

National Food Safety Standard 

General Hygienic Regulation for Food 

Production 

食品安全国家标准 

食品生产通用卫生规范 

Issued on: May 24, 2013 Implemented on: June 1, 2014 

Issued by the National Health and Family Planning Commission of 

the People's Republic of China
Contents 

Foreword .................................................................................................................................... I

1 Scope ................................................................................................................................... 1

2 Terms and Definitions ......................................................................................................... 1

3 Site Selection and Plant Surroundings................................................................................. 2

4 Plant and Workshop ............................................................................................................. 3

5 Facilities and Equipment ..................................................................................................... 4

6 Hygiene Management .......................................................................................................... 7

7 Food Material, Food Additives and Products Relevant to Food .......................................... 9

8 Food Safety Control in Production Process ........................................................................ 11

9 Inspection .......................................................................................................................... 13

10 Storage and Transportation of Food ................................................................................ 13

11 Product Recall Management ............................................................................................ 13

12 Training ........................................................................................................................... 14

13 Management System and Personnel ................................................................................ 14

14 Record and Document Management ............................................................................... 14

Appendix A Microbial Monitoring Procedure Guide of Food Processing .............................. 16
I 

Foreword 

 This standard replaces "General Hygienic Regulation for Food Enterprises" (GB 

14881-1994). 

 Compared with GB 14881-1994, the main changes in this standard are as follows: 

 - Modify the name of the standard; 

 - Modify the structure of the standard; 

 - Add terms and definitions; 

 - Emphasize the requirements of the food safety control in the whole process of food 

production such as material, processing, product storage and transportation and develop major 

measures to control biological, chemical and physical contamination; 

 - Modify relevant content of production equipment and put forward requirements of the 

layout, material and design of the production equipment in the perspective of preventing 

biological, chemical and physical contamination; 

 - Add the requirements related to purchasing, acceptance, transportation and storage of 

materials; 

 - Add the specific requirements of product traceability and recall; 

 - Add the management requirements of record and document; 

 - Add Appendix A "Microbial Monitoring Procedure Guide of Food Processing". 

National Food Safety Standard 

General Hygienic Regulation for Food Production 

食品安全国家标准

食品生产通用卫生规范

1 Scope 

 This standard specifies basic requirements and management rules for locations, facilities 

and personnel of material purchasing, processing, packaging, storage and transportation in the 

process of food production. 

 This standard is applicable to production of various kinds of food; if it's necessary to 

develop a special hygienic regulation for a certain kind of food production, this standard shall 

be taken as a basis. 

2 Terms and Definitions 

2.1 

 Contamination 
2 

 Process of biological, chemical and physical contamination factors transferred in the 

process of food production. 

2.2 

 Insect pest 

 Adverse effect caused by creatures such as insect, bird or rodent including fly, cockroach, 

sparrow and rat. 

2.3 

 Food processing personnel 

 Operation personnel directly contacting packaged or unpackaged food, food equipment 

and instrument and food contact surface. 

2.4 

 Contact surface 

 Contactable surface of equipment, tools and instruments or human body. 

2.5 

 Separation 

 Articles, facilities and areas are separated by leaving a certain space between one another 

instead of arranging physical blockage. 

2.6 

 Partition 

 Articles, facilities and areas are separated by arranging physical blockage such as wall, 

hygienic barrier, shade or independent room. 

2.7 

 Food processing location 

 Building and site for food processing and other buildings, sites and surrounding 

environment managed in the same way. 

2.8 

 Monitoring 

 Observation or determination carried out according to the preset way and parameter to 

evaluate whether the controlling unit is under the controlled state. 

2.9 

 Work clothes 

 Specialized clothes equipped to reduce the contamination risk of food processing 

personnel on food according to the requirements of different production areas. 

3 Site Selection and Plant Surroundings 

3.1 Site selection 

3.1.1 For the plant, areas which have large contamination on food shall not be selected. If a 

place has obviously adverse effect which can't be improved by taking measures on food safety 

and food edibility, the plant shall not be built in the place. 

3.1.2 For the plant, sites where hazardous waste, dust, harmful gas, radioactive substance 

and other diffusive sources of contamination can't be eliminated effectively shall not be 

selected. 
3 

3.1.3 For the plant, regions where flood disaster easily occur should not be selected; if it's 

difficult to keep away, necessary precaution measures shall be designed. 

3.1.4 There should not be potential locations with a large number of insect pest breeding 

around the plant; if it's difficult to keep away, necessary precaution measures shall be 

designed. 

3.2 Plant surroundings 

3.2.1 Potential contamination risk of the surroundings to food production shall be 

considered and appropriate measures shall be taken to reduce it to the minimum level. 

3.2.2 The plant shall be arranged reasonably; each functional area shall be obviously 

divided with appropriate separation or partition measures to prevent cross contamination. 

3.2.3 For the road in the plant, concrete, bitumen or other hard materials shall be paved; 

necessary measures shall be taken for vacant land, for example, cement, floor tile or lawn 

shall be paved to maintain clean surrounding and prevent raising dust and accumulating water 

under normal weather. 

3.2.4 Plant greening shall be kept a proper distance from the production workshop, and 

vegetation shall be maintained periodically to prevent insect pest from breeding. 

3.2.5 The plant shall be provided with proper drainage system. 

3.2.6 Living area such as dormitory, canteen or recreation facilities of employees shall be 

kept a proper distance or partitioned from the production areas. 

4 Plant and Workshop 

4.1 Design and layout 

4.1.1 Internal design and layout of plant and workshop shall meet the operation requirement 

of the food hygiene to avoid cross contamination during food production. 

4.1.2 Design of plant and workshop shall be arranged reasonably according to production 

process to prevent and reduce the risk of contamination on products. 

4.1.3 Operating areas in the plant and workshop shall be divided reasonably according to 

product characteristics, production process, production characteristics and the requirements of 

cleanliness in production process and shall be effectively separated or partitioned. For 

example: operating areas are generally divided into clean operating area, quasi-clean 

operating area and general operating area; or clean operating area and general operating area, 

etc.. General operating area shall be partitioned from other operating areas. 

4.1.4 Inspection room arranged in the plant shall be partitioned from the production area. 

4.1.5 Area and space of the plant shall be corresponding to the productivity to be convenient 

for equipment arrangement, cleaning and disinfection, material storage and personnel 

operation. 

4.2 Internal structure and materials of the building 

4.2.1 Internal structure 

 The building's internal structure shall be easy for maintenance, cleaning or disinfection 

and shall be constructed with appropriate durable materials. 

4.2.2 Ceiling 

4.2.2.1 Ceiling shall be constructed with nontoxic, odourless materials corresponding to the 
4 

production demand and easy for observing cleaning condition; if coatings are directly coated 

on the inner-layer of the roof as ceiling, nontoxic, odorless and mould-proof coatings difficult 

for shedding and easy for cleaning shall be used. 

4.2.2.2 Ceiling shall be easy for cleaning and disinfection, and difficult for condensed water 

to vertically drip in the structure to prevent insect pest and mould from breeding. 

4.2.2.3 Pipelines of accessories for steam, water and electricity shall not be arranged above 

the exposed food; if it's unavoidable, device or measure to prevent dust from scattering and 

water drop from dripping shall be provided. 

4.2.3 Wall 

4.2.3.1 Wall surface and partition shall be constructed with nontoxic, odourless and 

anti-seepage materials; wall surface within the range of operation height shall be smooth, 

difficult for accumulating dirt and easy for cleaning; if coatings are used, they shall be 

nontoxic, odorless, mould-proof, difficult for shedding and easy for cleaning. 

4.2.3.2 Wall, partition and ground junction shall be reasonable in structure, easy for 

cleaning and effectively avoid the accumulation of dirt such as the arrangement of bending 

interface. 

4.2.4 Doors and windows 

4.2.4.1 Doors and windows shall be closed tightly. Door surface shall be smooth, 

adsorption-proof, anti-seepage and easy for cleaning and disinfection. They shall be made of 

water proof, solid, and non-deformable materials. 

4.2.4.2 Doors of clean operating area, quasi-cleaning operation area and other areas shall be 

able to timely be shut down. 

4.2.4.3 Window glass shall be made of breakage-proof materials. If simple glass is used, 

necessary measures shall be taken to prevent contamination on materials, packaging materials 

and food after glass breakage. 

4.2.4.4 If windows are arranged with sills, their structure shall be able to avoid dust 

accumulation and easy for cleaning. Openable window shall be equipped with insect pest 

prevention window screen easy for cleaning. 

4.2.5 Ground 

4.2.5.1 Ground shall be made of nontoxic, odorless, anti-seepage and corrosion-resistant 

materials. The ground structure shall be conducive to sewage discharge and cleaning. 

4.2.5.2 Ground shall be flat, anti-skid, crack-free and easy for cleaning and disinfection and 

shall be provided with appropriate measures to prevent water accumulation. 

5 Facilities and Equipment 

5.1 Facilities 

5.1.1 Water supply facilities 

5.1.1.1 Water supply facilities shall ensure that the water quality, water pressure and water 

amount meet the production requirements. 

5.1.1.2 The quality of food processing water shall meet the requirements of GB 5749. For 

food with special requirements of processing water quality, corresponding requirements shall 

be met. The quality of food production water such as indirect cooling water and boiler water 
5 

shall meet the production requirements. 

5.1.1.3 Food processing water and other water such as indirect cooling water, sewage or 

waste water without contacting with food shall be transported with completely separated 

pipelines to avoid cross contamination. Each pipeline system shall be marked explicitly for 

distinction. 

5.1.1.4 Self-provided water source and water supply facilities shall meet the relevant 

requirements. Products used in water supply facilities involving hygienic security of drinking 

water shall also meet the relevant national requirements. 

5.1.2 Drainage facilities 

5.1.2.1 Drainage system shall be designed and constructed to ensure unblocked drainage 

and convenient cleaning and maintenance; it shall adapt to the need of food production and 

ensure that food, production and clean water be free from contamination. 

5.1.2.2 The inlet of drainage system shall be installed with device such as floor drain with 

water seal to prevent solid waste from entering and exhaled air from escaping. 

5.1.2.3 Outlet of drainage system shall be provided with appropriate measures in order to 

reduce the risk of insect attack. 

5.1.2.4 Indoor drainage shall flow from areas with high cleanliness to those with low 

cleanliness, and shall be designed to prevent backflow. 

5.1.2.5 Sewage shall be disposed by proper ways before discharge to meet the relevant 

national requirements about sewage discharge. 

5.1.3 Cleaning and disinfection facilities 

 Sufficient specialized cleaning facilities for food, tools and instruments and equipment 

shall be provided; where necessary, appropriate disinfection facilities shall be provided. 

Measures shall be taken to avoid cross contamination brought by tools and instruments for 

cleaning and disinfection. 

5.1.4 Waste storage facilities 

 Specialized facilities for storing waste which are reasonably designed, anti-seepage and 

easy for cleaning shall be provided; facilities and vessels for storing waste in the workshop 

shall be marked clearly. Where necessary, facilities for storing waste temporarily shall be 

arranged in proper site and waste shall be stored in classes according to characteristics. 

5.1.5 Personal hygienic facilities 

5.1.5.1 Changing room shall be arranged at the entrance of production location or 

production workshop; where necessary, changing room may be arranged at the entrance of the 

specific operating area as needed. The changing room shall be designed to ensure that work 

clothes, personal clothes and other articles be kept apart. 

5.1.5.2 Facilities for changing shoes (putting on shoe covers) or disinfection facilities for 

work shoes or boots shall be arranged as needed at the entrance and necessary place of the 

production workshop. If disinfection facilities for work shoes or boots are arranged, their 

specification and size shall meet the requirements of disinfection. 

5.1.5.3 Rest room shall be arranged as needed; its structure, facilities and internal materials 

shall be easy to keep clean; facilities for washing hand shall be arranged at proper place in the 

rest room. The rest room shall not be directly connected with areas for food production, 

packaging or storage. 

5.1.5.4 Facilities for washing and drying hand and disinfection shall be arranged at the 
6 

entrance of clean operating area; if necessary, facilities for washing hand and (or) disinfection 

shall be added in the operating area; for the faucets matched with disinfection facilities, their 

switches shall be non-manual. 

5.1.5.5 Quantity of the faucets for hand washing facilities shall be matched with that of food 

processing personnel of the same shift; where necessary, mixer of cold and hot water shall be 

arranged. Wash basins shall be made of smooth, water-proof and easy-to-clean materials and 

shall be designed and constructed to be easy for cleaning and disinfection. Simple and clear 

hand washing method shall be marked at visible position adjacent to hand washing facilities. 

5.1.5.6 According to the cleanliness of food processing personnel, where necessary, 

facilities such as air shower and shower room may be arranged. 

5.1.6 Ventilation facilities 

5.1.6.1 Appropriate natural ventilation or artificial ventilation measures shall be taken; 

where necessary, natural ventilation or mechanical facilities shall be used to effectively 

control temperature and humidity of production environment. For ventilation facilities, air 

shall not flow from operating areas with low requirements on cleanliness to those with high 

requirements on cleanliness. 

5.1.6.2 Air inlet position shall be arranged reasonably, and contamination source such as air 

inlet, air outlet and device for storing outdoor garbage shall be kept an appropriate distance 

and angle. Air inlet and outlet shall be equipped with facilities such as mesh enclosure to 

prevent insect pest from intruding. Ventilation facilities shall be easy for cleaning, 

maintenance or replacement. 

5.1.6.3 If filtration and purification treatment for air is needed in the production process, air 

filtration device shall be added and cleaned periodically. 

5.1.6.4 According to production requirements, where necessary, dedusting facilities shall be 

installed. 

5.1.7 Lighting facilities 

5.1.7.1 Sufficient natural lighting or artificial lighting shall be provided in the plant; luster 

and luminance shall meet production and operation requirements; light source shall make it 

possible that food takes on actual color. 

5.1.7.2 If lighting facilities are needed to be installed above the exposed food and materials, 

safe lighting facilities shall be adopted or protection measures shall be taken. 

5.1.8 Storage facilities 

5.1.8.1 Storage facilities corresponding to quantity, storage requirements of products shall 

be provided. 

5.1.8.2 Warehouse shall be made of nontoxic and solid materials; warehouse ground shall 

be flat and convenient for ventilation. Warehouse shall be designed to be easy for 

maintenance and cleaning to prevent insect pest from hiding and shall be provided with 

device for preventing insect pest from intruding. 

5.1.8.3 Materials, semi-finished products, finished products and packaging materials shall 

be arranged with different storage sites or placed in different areas according to different 

properties and shall be marked explicitly to prevent cross contamination. Where necessary, 

warehouse shall be equipped with control facilities of temperature and humidity. 

5.1.8.4 Storing articles shall be kept a proper distance from wall and ground in order to be 

conducive to ventilation and articles handling. 
7 

5.1.8.5 Detergent, disinfectant, pesticide, lubricant or fuel shall be packaged safely and 

marked explicitly and shall be kept apart from materials, semi-finished products, finished 

products and packaging materials. 

5.1.9 Temperature control facilities 

5.1.9.1 Appropriate heating, cooling and freezing facilities and facilities for monitoring 

temperature shall be equipped according to the characteristics of food production. 

5.1.9.2 According to production requirements, facilities for controlling room temperature 

may be arranged. 

5.2 Equipment 

5.2.1 Production equipment 

5.2.1.1 General requirements 

 Production equipment corresponding to productivity shall be provided and arranged in 

order according to process flow to avoid cross contamination. 

5.2.1.2 Materials 

5.2.1.2.1 Equipment and instruments contacting with materials, semi-finished products and 

finished products shall be made of nontoxic, odorless, corrosion-resistant materials difficult 

for shedding and shall be easy for cleaning and curing. 

5.2.1.2.2 Surface of equipment and tools and instruments contacting with food shall be 

made of smooth, nonabsorbent materials easy for cleaning, curing and disinfection, and will 

not react with food, detergent and disinfectant under normal production and shall be kept in 

perfect condition. 

5.2.1.3 Design 

5.2.1.3.1 All production equipment shall make it possible in design and structure to avoid 

parts, metal chip, lubricating oil or other contamination factors being mixed into food and 

shall be easy for cleaning, disinfection, inspection and maintenance. 

5.2.1.3.2 Equipment shall be fixed on the wall or floor without any gap or sufficient space 

shall remain between it and ground or wall during the installation to be convenient for 

cleaning and maintenance. 

5.2.2 Monitoring equipment 

 The equipment used for monitoring, controlling and recording such as pressure gauge, 

thermometer or recorder and shall be calibrated and maintained periodically. 

5.2.3 Equipment curing and repair 

 Equipment curing and repair system shall be established to strengthen the routine 

maintenance and curing of equipment; the equipment shall be inspected periodically and the 

result shall be recorded timely. 

6 Hygiene Management 

6.1 Hygiene management system 

6.1.1 Hygiene management system for food processing personnel, food production and 

corresponding assessment standard shall be established; post responsibilities shall be 

determined to carry out post responsibility system. 

6.1.2 Monitoring system for key control link significant to guarantee food safety shall be 
8 

established according to the characteristics of food and hygienic requirements in the 

production and storage process to be implemented well and inspected periodically. If any 

problem is found, it shall be timely corrected. 

6.1.3 Hygienic monitoring system for production environment, food processing personnel, 

equipment and facilities shall be established to determine the range, object and frequency of 

internal monitoring. The monitoring results shall be recorded and filed, and executive 

condition and effect shall be inspected periodically so that any problem can be rectified if it's 

found. 

6.1.4 Cleaning and disinfection system and management system for cleaning and 

disinfection instruments shall be established. Equipment and tools and instruments before and 

after cleaning and disinfection shall be kept apart and safely kept to avoid cross 

contamination. 

6.2 Hygiene management of plant and facilities 

6.2.1 Facilities in the plant shall be kept clean and repaired or renewed timely in case of any 

problem; in case of any damage of plant ground, roof, ceiling and wall, it shall be repaired 

timely. 

6.2.2 Equipment and tools and instruments for production, packaging and storage, pipeline 

for production and contact surface of exposed food shall be cleaned and disinfected 

periodically. 

6.3 Health management and hygienic requirement for food processing personnel 

6.3.1 Health management for food processing personnel 

6.3.1.1 Health management system for food processing personnel shall be established and 

carried out. 

6.3.1.2 For food processing personnel, physical examination shall be carried out and health 

certificate shall be obtained; they shall accept hygienic training before taking posts. 

6.3.1.3 Food processing personnel who suffer from infectious disease of digestive tract such 

as dysentery, typhoid, viral hepatitis A and viral hepatitis E, diseases affecting food safety 

such as active pulmonary tuberculosis and suppurative or exudative dermatosis, or the 

personnel whose skin injury has not been healed shall be transferred to other posts without 

affecting food safety. 

6.3.2 Hygiene requirements of food processing personnel 

6.3.2.1 The personnel shall handle personal hygiene before entering food production site to 

avoid contaminating food. 

6.3.2.2 The personnel shall wear clean work clothes when entering the operating area, wash 

hand and disinfect as needed; hair shall be hidden in work cap or restraint by hairnet. 

6.3.2.3 The personnel shall not wear jewelry and watch and shall not make up, dye 

fingernails and spray perfume; they shall not carry or store personal articles irrelevant to food 

production. 

6.3.2.4 After going to the rest room, contacting articles which may contaminate food or 

engaging in other activities irrelevant to food production, they shall wash hand and disinfect 

before engaging in activities relevant to food production contacting food, tools and 

instruments or food equipment again. 

6.3.3 Visitors 

 Those who are not food processing personnel shall not enter food production site; if they 
9 

enter the food production site under special circumstances, they shall abide by the same 

hygienic requirements with food processing personnel. 

6.4 Insect pest control 

6.4.1 The building shall be kept in perfect condition and tidy to prevent insect attack from 

intruding and breeding. 

6.4.2 Insect pest control measures shall be prepared and carried out for periodical inspection. 

Effective measures such as yarn curtain, gauze, rat guard, fly prevention lamp or wind screen 

shall be taken in production workshop and warehouse to prevent rodent or insects from 

intruding. If trail of insects or rodent is found, its source shall be traced to eliminate hidden 

danger. 

6.4.3 Plan drawing for insect pest control shall be exactly drawn to mark the positions of 

mousetrap, glue board, fly-killing lamp, outdoor bait and killing device of biochemical 

pheromone. 

6.4.4 Pest control shall be carried out periodically in the plant. 

6.4.5 During the treatment by physical, chemical or biological agent, food safety and the 

proper food quality shall not be affected and food contact surface, equipment, tools and 

instruments and packaging material shall not be contaminated. Pest control shall be recorded 

correspondingly. 

6.4.6 Before using various kinds of pesticides or other drugs, preventive measures shall be 

taken to avoid contamination on persons, food, equipment and tools; in case of contamination 

carelessly, contaminated equipment or tools shall be cleaned thoroughly in time to eliminate 

contamination. 

6.5 Waste disposal 

6.5.1 System for waste storage and elimination shall be prepared; for waste with special 

requirements, its disposal shall meet the relevant requirements. Waste shall be eliminated 

periodically; corruptible waste shall be eliminated as soon as possible; where necessary, waste 

shall be eliminated timely. 

6.5.2 Waste location outside the workshop shall be isolated from food processing site to 

prevent contamination; smelly or harmful, toxic gas shall be prevented from escaping; insect 

pest shall be prevented from breeding. 

6.6 Work clothes management 

6.6.1 The personnel shall wear work clothes while entering the operating areas. 

6.6.2 Specialized clothes such as coats, pants, shoes, caps and hairnet shall be equipped 

according to the food characteristics and the requirements of production process; where 

necessary, mask, apron, sleeve or glove may be equipped. 

6.6.3 Cleaning system for work clothes shall be prepared, where necessary, work clothes 

shall be replaced timely; during the production, work clothes shall be kept clean and in 

perfect condition. 

6.6.4 Work clothes shall be designed and made to adapt to the requirements of different 

operating areas to reduce the risk of cross contamination; position of work clothes pocket and 

connection fastening shall be reasonably selected to reduce the contamination risk caused by 

content or fastening dropping. 

7 Food Material, Food Additives and Products Relevant to Food 
10 

7.1 General requirements 

 Purchasing, acceptance, transportation and storage management system for food material, 

food additives and products relevant to food shall be established to ensure that the food 

materials, food additives and products relevant to food meet the relevant national 

requirements. Any substance which may damage human health and life safety shall not be 

added to food. 

7.2 Food material 

7.2.1 License and qualified certificate of the Supplier for the purchased food materials shall 

be checked; food materials without qualified certificate shall be inspected according to food 

safety standard. 

7.2.2 Food materials can't be used until they pass the acceptance. Food materials without 

passing the acceptance shall be kept apart from the qualified materials in designated areas and 

marked obviously and shall be returned and replaced timely. 

7.2.3 Sensory inspection should be conducted before processing and where necessary, 

laboratory inspection shall be conducted; once the item indexes involving food safety are 

found to be abnormal, the food materials shall not be used and only the verified applicable 

ones shall be used. 

7.2.4 During transportation and storage, the food materials shall be kept away from direct 

sunlight and shall be equipped with rainproof and dustproof facilities; according to the 

characteristics and hygiene requirements of food materials, they shall also be provided with 

facilities for insulation, cold storage and refreshment etc.. 

7.2.5 Transportation tools and vessels of food materials shall be kept clean and be 

maintained in good condition and be disinfected where necessary. The food materials shall not 

be shipped together with toxic and harmful substance to avoid contamination on food 

materials. 

7.2.6 For warehouse of food materials, management system shall be established and it shall 

be managed by specific personnel who is responsible for periodically inspecting the quality 

and hygienic condition and timely cleaning bad food materials or those exceeding quality 

guarantee period. The distribution order of warehouse shall comply with the principle of "first 

in first out"; where necessary, it shall be determined according to the characteristic of 

different food materials. 

7.3 Food additives 

7.3.1 License of the Supplier and qualified certificate of products shall be inspected where 

food additives are purchased. The food additives can't be used until they pass the acceptance. 

7.3.2 The transportation tools and vessels of food additives shall be kept clean and be 

maintained in good condition and shall be provided with necessary protection to avoid 

contamination on the food additives. 

7.3.3 Storage of food additives shall be managed by specific personnel who is responsible 

for periodically inspecting the quality and hygienic condition and timely cleaning the bad 

food materials or those exceeding quality guarantee period. The distribution order of 

warehouse shall comply with the principle of "first in first out"; where necessary, it shall be 

determined according to the characteristic of food additives. 

7.4 Products relevant to food 
11 

7.4.1 Products relevant to food such as purchased food packaging materials, vessels, 

detergent and disinfectant shall be inspected for qualified certificate; those which are carried 

out with license management shall also be inspected for the license of the Supplier and those 

such as food packaging materials can't be used until they pass the acceptance. 

7.4.2 The transportation means and vessels of products relevant to food shall be kept clean 

and be maintained in good condition and shall be provided with necessary protection to avoid 

contamination on food materials and cross contamination. 

7.4.3 Storage of relevant products relevant to food shall be managed by specific personnel 

who is responsible for periodically inspecting the quality and hygienic condition and timely 

cleaning the bad food materials or those exceeding quality guarantee period. The distribution 

order of warehouse shall comply with the principle of "first in first out". 

7.5 Other 

 For packaging or vessels of food materials, food additives and packaging materials 

directly contacting food, their materials shall be stable, nontoxic, harmless, and difficult to be 

contaminated and meet hygienic requirements. 

 Food materials, food additives and food packaging materials shall be provided with a 

certain buffer or cleaning measures for external packaging to reduce the contamination risk. 

8 Food Safety Control in Production Process 

8.1 Contamination risk control of product 

8.1.1 Hazard analysis method shall be used to define the key link of food safety during 

production process and control measures for the key link of food safety shall be taken. In the 

area of the key link, relevant documents such as list of ingredients (feeding) and post 

specifications shall be prepared to implement control measures. 

8.1.2 Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point system is encouraged to be adopted for the 

food safety control during production process. 

8.2 Control of biological contamination 

8.2.1 Cleaning and disinfection 

8.2.1.1 The effective cleaning and disinfection system shall be developed for production 

equipment and environment to reduce the risk of microbial contamination according to the 

characteristics of material, product and process. 

8.2.1.2 Cleaning and disinfection system shall include: cleaning and disinfection area and 

name of equipment or instruments; responsibilities of cleaning and disinfection work; 

detergent and disinfectant; cleaning and disinfection method and frequency; verification of 

cleaning and disinfection effect and treatment for those failing to meet the requirements; 

cleaning and disinfection work and monitoring record. 

8.2.1.3 The cleaning and disinfection system shall be guaranteed to be implemented and 

recorded faithfully; the disinfection effect shall be timely verified and it shall be corrected 

timely in case of any problem. 

8.2.2 Microbial monitoring of food processing 

8.2.2.1 The key control link is determined according to the product characteristics to carry 

out microbial monitoring; where necessary, the microbial monitoring procedure of food 
12 

processing shall be established, including microbial monitoring of production environment 

and process product. 

8.2.2.2 The microbial monitoring procedure of food processing shall include: microbial 

monitoring indexes, sampling points, monitoring frequency, sampling and inspection method, 

evaluation principles and rectification measures. The specific items may be developed by 

reference to the requirements of Appendix A in combination with production process and 

product characteristics. 

8.2.2.3 The microbial monitoring shall include pathogenic bacteria monitoring and indicator 

bacteria monitoring, and the microbial monitoring result of food processing shall be able to 

reflect the control level of microbial contamination during food processing. 

8.3 Control of chemical contamination 

8.3.1 The management system to avoid chemical contamination shall be established; the 

possible contamination source and contamination way shall be analyzed and the proper 

control plan and control procedure shall be developed. 

8.3.2 Use system of food additives and processing aids for food industry shall be established 

and the food additives shall be used according to the requirements of GB 2760. 

8.3.3 Any non-edible chemical composition except food additives and other substances 

which may hazard human health shall not be added during food processing. 

8.3.4 On the production equipment, if the movable components which may directly or 

indirectly contact food need lubrication, the edible oil or other oil meeting requirements of 

food safety shall be adopted. 

8.3.5 The use system of chemicals such as detergent and disinfectant is established. Except 

for the cleaning and disinfection requirement and process demand, the chemicals which may 

contaminate food shall not be used and stored in the production site. 

8.3.6 All food additives, detergents and disinfectants shall be preserved in proper vessel and 

shall be stored with obvious mark and in classes; during the receiving, they shall be exactly 

measured and recorded. 

8.3.7 That food may produce hazardous substances during processing shall be concerned 

and the effective measures are encouraged to be taken to reduce the risk. 

8.4 Control of physical contamination 

8.4.1 The management system to avoid contamination of foreign matters shall be 

established; the possible contamination source and contamination way shall be analyzed and 

the corresponding control plan and control procedure shall be developed. 

8.4.2 The measures such as equipment maintenance, hygiene management, site management, 

outsider management and processing supervision shall be taken to reduce the contamination 

risk of foreign matters such as glass, metal and plastic cement in maximum extent. 

8.4.3 Effective measures such as arrangement of screen mesh, collector, magnet and metal 

checker shall be taken to reduce the risk of metal or other foreign matters to contaminate 

food. 

8.4.4 During site repair, maintenance and construction, the proper measures shall be taken 

to avoid foreign matters, unpleasant smell and chips to contaminate food. 

8.5 Packaging 

8.5.1 The food packaging shall be able to protect the food safety and quality in maximum 

extent under normal storage, transportation and marketing conditions. 
13 

8.5.2 Identification shall be checked to avoid misusage where the packaging material is 

used; and the use condition of packaging material shall be recorded truthfully. 

9 Inspection 

9.1 The inspection shall be carried out for material and product through self-inspection or 

by the consignable food inspection institution with corresponding qualification and the 

recording system for delivery inspection of food is established. 

9.2 For self-inspection, the corresponding inspection room and inspection capability to 

inspection items shall be provided with; the inspection is carried out by the inspection 

personnel with corresponding qualification according to required inspection method; the 

inspection instruments and equipment shall be inspected periodically. 

9.3 The inspection room shall be provided with sound management system to properly 

preserve the original record and inspection report of each inspection. Products sampling 

system shall be established to timely keep sample. 

9.4 Comprehensive consideration shall be taken for factors such as product characteristics, 

process characteristics, material control condition to reasonably determine inspection items 

and frequency so as to effectively verify control measures during production process. The 

inspection frequency of net content, sensory requirements and other inspection items easy to 

change due to effect of production process shall be greater than that of other inspection items. 

9.5 For the same variety of product with different packaging, inspection items free from 

effect of packaging specification and packaging type may be inspected together. 

10 Storage and Transportation of Food 

10.1 Proper storage and transportation conditions are selected according to requirements of 

food characteristics and hygiene; where necessary, the facilities for insulation, cold storage 

and refreshment shall be equipped. The food shall not be stored and transported together with 

toxic, harmful or smelly articles. 

10.2 Suitable storage system shall be established and carried out and in case of any 

abnormality, it shall be timely treated. 

10.3 The vessels, tools and instruments and equipment to store, transport and load and 

unload the food shall be safe, harmless and clean to reduce the risk of food contamination. 

10.4 During the storage and transportation, the direct sunlight, rain, notable temperature and 

humidity change and violent impact shall be avoided to prevent the adverse effect on food. 

11 Product Recall Management 

11.1 The product recall system shall be developed according to the relevant national 

regulations. 

11.2 Where the produced food is unconformable with the food safety standard or other 
14 

inedible conditions are found, the production shall be stopped immediately and the food 

already sold in market shall be recalled; the relevant production operators and consumers 

shall be notified and the recall and notification condition shall be recorded. 

11.3 The recalled food shall be carried out with harmless treatment or be destroyed to avoid 

them flowing into the market again. For the food recalled due to its label, identification or 

instructions unconformable with food safety standard, remedial measures with clear 

indication to consumer being able to guarantee food safety and convenient for new marketing 

shall be taken. 

11.4 Production batch shall be reasonably divided and recorded and identification is carried 

out by mode such as product batch No. to be convenient for product traceability. 

12 Training 

12.1 Training system for relevant post of food production shall be established and the 

corresponding training about food safety knowledge shall be carried out for food processing 

personnel and practitioners of relevant post. 

12.2 The awareness and responsibility of the practitioner to comply with relevant laws, 

regulations and standards of food safety and implement management system of food safety 

shall be promoted and the corresponding knowledge level shall be improved through the 

training. 

12.3 The annual training plan of food safety shall be developed and implemented according 

to the actual demand of different posts of food production and the assessment is carried out; 

the training record is made. 

12.4 Where the relevant laws, regulations and standards of food safety is updated, the 

training shall be timely developed. 

12.5 The training plan shall be examined and revised periodically and the training effect is 

evaluated; and the routine inspection is carried out to ensure the effective implementation of 

training plan. 

13 Management System and Personnel 

13.1 The professional technical personnel and management personnel of food safety shall 

be allocated and the management system to guarantee food safety shall be established. 

13.2 The management system of food safety shall be corresponding to the production scale, 

process level and variety characteristics of food and shall be continuously improved 

according to actual production and implementation experience. 

13.3 The management personnel shall know about the basic principles and operation 

specifications of food safety and shall be able to judge the potential risks and take suitable 

preventive and corrective measures to ensure the effective management. 

14 Record and Document Management 
15 

14.1 Record management. 

14.1.1 The recording system shall be established to record links of food production such as 

purchasing, processing, storage, inspection and marketing in detail. The record contents shall 

be complete and true to ensure that all links from material purchasing to production marketing 

of product may be traced effectively. 

14.1.1.1 The contents such as name, specification, quantity, Supplier's name and contact and 

purchase date of products relevant to food such as food materials, food additives and food 

packaging materials shall be recorded truthfully. 

14.1.1.2 The contents such as food processing (including process parameter and 

environmental monitoring), storage condition of food and inspection batch No., inspection 

date, inspection personnel, inspection method and inspection result of the product shall be 

recorded truthfully. 

14.1.1.3 The contents such as name, specification, quantity, production date, production 

batch No., Purchaser's name and contact, quality certificate and marketing date of delivery 

product shall be recorded truthfully. 

14.1.1.4 The contents such as name, batch, specification, quantity, recall reason and 

subsequent rectification program of recalled food shall be recorded truthfully. 

14.1.2 The purchasing inspection record of products relevant to food such as food materials, 

food additives and food packaging materials and delivery inspection record of food shall be 

rechecked and signed by the record personnel and examiner; the record contents shall be 

complete. The preservation period shall not be less than 2 years. 

14.1.3 The customer complaint handling mechanism shall be established. As for the written 

or verbal advice and complaint proposed by customers, the related management departments 

of the enterprise shall make records, find out the reasons and handle them carefully. 

14.2 The management system of document shall be established to effectively manage 

documents so as to ensure that documents at each relevant location are valid. 

14.3 The advanced technology and means (such as information system of electronic 

computer) are encouraged to be adopted to carry out record and document management. 
16 

Appendix A 

Microbial Monitoring Procedure Guide of Food Processing

 Note: this appendix gives key points which shall be considered where the environmental microbial monitoring procedure 

in food processing is developed, and they may be referred to in actual production according to factors such as product 

characteristics and technical level of production process. 

A.1 The microbial monitoring during food processing is important means to ensure the food 

safety and the tool to verify or evaluate effectiveness of target microorganism control 

procedure and to ensure the continuous improvement of whole food quality and safety 

system. 

A.2 This appendix proposes the key points which shall be considered where the microbial 

monitoring procedure of food processing is developed. 

A.3 The microbial monitoring of food processing mainly includes the environmental 

microbial monitoring and microbial monitoring of process product. The environmental 

microbial monitoring is mainly used to judge the hygiene control condition of processing and 

find out the potential contamination source. Generally, the environmental monitoring objects 

include food contact surface, adjacent contact surface to food or food contact surface and 

environmental air. The microbial monitoring of process product is mainly used to evaluate the 

hygiene control capacity of processing and hygienic condition of product. 

A.4 The microbial monitoring of food processing covers microbiology evaluation and 

evaluation of cleaning and disinfection effect and microorganism control effect of each link 

during processing. During development, the following contents shall be considered: 

 a) The microbial monitoring of processing shall include the microbial monitoring 

indexes, sampling points, monitoring frequency, sampling and inspection method, evaluation 

principles and treatment for non-conformance condition. 

 b) The microbial monitoring indexes of processing shall take the indicator 

microorganism (such as aerobic bacteria count, coliform bacteria, yeast or other indicator 

bacteria) which is able to evaluate the hygienic condition of processing environment and 

process control capacity as priority. Where necessary, the pathogenic bacteria may also be 

adopted as the monitor index. 

 c) The microbial monitoring sampling points of processing: sampling points of 

environmental monitoring shall be places which are contaminated due to the possible 

existence or entrance of microorganism. The sampling points may be determined according to 

the relevant literature information, experience or accumulated historical data. The sampling 

points of process product monitoring plan shall cover all process products whose 

microorganism level may change and may affect the product safety and (or) food quality in 

the whole processing link, for example, the one behind the key control point controlled by 

microorganism. The specific contents may refer to examples detailed in Table A.1. 

 d) The microbial monitoring frequency of processing: monitoring frequency shall be 

developed based on the possible risk of contamination. The reasonable monitoring frequency 

may be determined according to the relevant literature information, relevant experience and 

professional knowledge or accumulated historical data. The specific contents may refer to 
17 

examples detailed in Table A.1. The microbial monitoring of processing shall be dynamic, 

adjusted according to the data change and contamination risk of processing and periodically 

evaluated. For example, where the indicator microorganism monitoring result is on the high 

side, the pathogenic bacteria is found in final product, after the significant maintenance 

construction activities are completed, or downtrend appears for hygienic condition, the 

sampling points and monitoring frequency are needed to be increased; where the monitoring 

result meets the requirements all the time, the sampling points or the monitoring frequency 

may be properly reduced. 

 e) The sampling and inspection method: generally, coating sampling is the primary of 

environmental monitoring and the direct sampling is adopted for process product monitoring. 

The selection of inspection method shall be based on the monitor index. 

 f) The evaluation principles: the judgment shall be carried out according to the certain 

monitor index limit and the limit may be determined based on the microorganism control 

effect and its influence on the product quality and food safety. 

 g) The treatment requirements for inconformity condition of microbial monitoring: the 

monitoring result of each monitoring point shall meet the monitor index limit and remain 

stable; where the slight inconformity appears, measures such as increasing sampling 

frequency may be adopted to strengthen monitoring; where the severe inconformity appears, 

correction shall be carried out immediately and the reason leading to problem shall be found 

out at the same time to determine whether the corresponding corrective measures are taken 

for microorganism control procedure. 

Table A.1 Microbial Monitoring Example of Food Processing 

Monitoring items Suggested sampling points a Suggested 

monitoring 

microorganism b 

Suggested 

monitoring 

frequency c 

Suggested 

monitor 

index limit 

Environmental 

microbial 

monitoring 

Food contact 

surface 

Hands and work clothes of 

food processing personnel, 

surfaces of glove conveyors, 

tools and instruments and 

other equipment directly 

contacting food 

Bacterial colony, 

coliform etc. 

The verification of 

cleaning effect shall 

be carried out after 

the cleaning and 

disinfection and 

others may be 

carried out every 

week, every two 

weeks or every 

month 

Determined 

in 

combination 

with actual 

situation of 

production 

Adjacent 

contact 

surface to 

food or food 

contact 

surface 

External surface of 

equipment, support surface, 

control panel and contact 

surface of part car 

Indicator 

microorganism for 

hygienic condition 

of bacteria colony 

and coliform; 

where necessary, 

the pathogenic 

bacteria is 

monitored 

Every two weeks or 

every month 

Determined 

in 

combination 

with actual 

situation of 

production 
18 

Monitoring items Suggested sampling points a Suggested 

monitoring 

microorganism b 

Suggested 

monitoring 

frequency c 

Suggested 

monitor 

index limit 

Environmental 

air of 

processing 

area 

Position close to exposed 

product 

Bacteria colony, 

yeast etc. 

Every week, every 

two weeks or every 

month 

Determined 

in 

combination 

with actual 

situation of 

production 

Microbial monitoring of process 

product 

Process product whose 

microorganism level may 

change and may affect the 

food safety and (or) food 

quality during processing 

link 

Indicator 

microorganism for 

hygienic condition 

such as bacteria 

colony, coliform, 

yeast or other 

indicator bacteria 

Every week (every 

two weeks or every 

month) for the 

product produced in 

the first time of shift 

beginning and 

subsequent 

continuous 

production process 

Determined 

in 

combination 

with actual 

situation of 

production 

a

 Sampling points may be selected according to the food characteristics and actual situation of processing. 

b

 One or more hygiene indicator microorganism may be selected to implement monitoring according to the requirements. 

c

 Monitoring frequency may be determined according to the risk of specific sampling points.