After stopping Chinese dairy imports from entering the country last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in an effort to ensure food safety standards, set up its office in the Chinese capital of Beijing on Wednesday as its first overseas location. Food imports of Chinese origin including milk, dairy product and petdefine foods have raised safety concerns continuously for the last 18 months after several infants in China as well as the U.S. got sickened due to melamine-tainted milk. Last week, FDA decided to stop imported foods from China from entering United States.

FDA plans to include Shanghai and Guangzhou as its next series of office locations in China in the coming week, in addition to two more locations in India next month. According to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, offices at Europe, Latin America and the Middle East will come up next year.

During the ribbon-cutting ceremony of Beijing office, FDA's associate commissioner for foods, David Acheson said: "We are currently importing about 15% of the food we eat in the United States, and it is increasing every year. It's much easier if we can build the collaboration at a local level rather than trying to do it from 8,000 miles away."

"We're opening up a new era, not just new offices," he added proclaiming "a permanent FDA presence in China". China exports a major chunk of consumables to the United States, roughly accounting to nearly $321 billions worth. According to Leavitt, "it is clear you cannot inspect everything." The new inspection offices will guarantee safety standards and quality controls in foods "at the point of manufacture". Certified third-party inspectors' approval will further ensure quality and safety of food products to be exported.

FDA plans to employ American workforce with the Chinese government to assure the standards and quality of food being processed and packed for export to the United States. The plan includes eight American food inspectors with profound expertise in food, medicine and medical devices. This approach will be applied to almost 200,000 food exporters across 150 countries.

The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) report indicates that FDA assessments are unsystematic and ineffective. It says that "FDA's oversight and enforcement efforts have not kept pace with the growing number of food firms. As a result, FDA has little assurance that companies comply with food-labeling laws and regulations."

According to the GAO, United States imports nearly 15 percent of its overall food supply. About three-fourths of seafood and 60 percent of fresh fruits and vegetables are imported. China is apparently disappointed by FDA's decision to stop its imports in United States stating that all its export supplies are duly approved by Chinese food inspectors conforming to newly-introduced stringent inspection measures.

Qin Gang, spokesman of Chinese Foreign Ministry, said: "We feel deep regret that the U.S. insists on unilaterally taking these steps."