Food safety becomes national priority

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The State Council pledged on Tuesday to resolve food safety issues in three years, but effective supervision and punishment of those breaking the law is the key to accomplishing the ambitious target, analysts said.

"China's food industry still has many safety risks, and illegal actions happen often," said a statement released on Tuesday by the State Council.

The government will launch a crackdown on food plants and individuals endangering food safety to improve the situation in three years, the statement said.

Also, the country will establish a better regulation mechanism, legal and standards systems, as well as technical support systems, to improve the overall food safety management level in about five years, according to the statement.

"Major food safety problems are mainly related to production issues, such as the use of illegal additives and illegal food processing in small plants," said food safety expert Dong Jinshi, executive vice-president of the International Food Packaging Association in Beijing.

Food safety has become a major concern for Chinese consumers after a string of cases surfaced, including melamine-tainted baby formula products and pork contaminated with clenbuterol.

According to the State Council statement, food safety will become a measure of local governments' annual assessments. A database of food companies' safety records will also be established. Blacklisted companies' names will be made public, and the companies will be punished.

Local quality authorities must also prevent expired food products from returning to the market, while consumers will get cash rewards for exposing substandard food products, the statement said.

Li Chang'an, a public policy professor at the Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics, said some local officials have been held responsible for severe food scandals in recent years.

"But this is the first time that the country will launch long-term measures, which explicitly stipulate that officials will be accountable for food safety issues," he said.

About the broadcaster:

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.