Less people have succumbed to food poisoning this year, the
Ministry of Health said Wednesday in Beijing. But the nation still
needs to keep a close eye on food quality.
A
total of 114 people have been killed by food poisoning in the first
10 months of this year, a ministry report said. It had received
reports of 104 serious food-poisoning accidents from across the
country in the period, accounting for 5,900 victims.
The report said the number of deaths was 12.7 percent lower than
the same period last year, while the number of incidents was 43.8
percent lower and the overall number of victims was down 56
percent.
Chemicals were the main cause of food poisoning this year. Such
incidents resulted in the deaths of 78 people or 70.9 percent of
the total fatalities and caused 1,943 people or 32.9 percent of the
total to be poisoned.
Of
the various chemicals, different types of rat poison have become
the top killer, being responsible for 23 incidents and 69
deaths.
On
September 14, a man, who was subsequently executed, poisoned a
business rival's dough, killing 42 people in Nanjing of east
China's Jiangsu Province.
After the case, China launched a national campaign against the
illegal and improper use of rat poison. Thousands of kilograms of
illegally made rat poison have been collected in various
regions.
The number of people poisoned by bacteria in food, which was the
main cause of food poisoning last year, reached 2,012 this year, a
decline of 70.7 percent compared with the first 10 months of
2001.
By
the end of October, a total of 3,320 people had been poisoned by
food provided by canteens, making up 56 percent of the total. In
the same period last year, the number was 9,306, making up about 69
percent of all cases.
(China Daily November 28, 2002)