A condiments production line in the Xinghua Economic Development Zone. [Photo/WeChat account: jsxhkfq]
The market regulation bureau of Xinghua city – administered by Taizhou city in East China's Jiangsu province – has been promoting its shared laboratory model to help resident small and micro food manufacturers solve testing problems.
In practice, the city classifies shared laboratories into two categories – one is the open inspection from laboratories of large enterprises and another is the shared laboratories that were co-developed by small and micro food manufacturers.
Large food manufacturers in Xinghua, such as Weimen, Kerisom, Jideli, and Dongao, have been encouraged to establish open and shared laboratories.
At present, Xinghua is home to 632 food manufacturers, of which 524 are SMEs. There are less than 400 professional testing people in the city.
The effect of these shared laboratories has been significant, as they help SMEs conduct product inspections and reduce operating costs. Additionally, they help large enterprises utilize idle resources and improve their management and testing capabilities, while also promoting food safety, and thus reducing the burden of food safety supervision.