China will launch a nationwide inspection on food safety in its
rural areas and urban-rural conjunctive regions, according to a
notice released by China's food and drug watchdog on Friday.
As a part of a four-month nationwide campaign to improve the
quality of goods and food safety in China, the special inspection
will target "small-sized food companies, workshops and restaurants
in rural areas," in an effort to eradicate hidden dangers of food
accidents, the notice said.
The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) said that by the
end of 2007, the governments at township level and county levels
must establish food accident response systems.
Local governments should shoulder their responsibilities to
discover, report and handle food safety accidents timely through
the systems.
Compared with citizens in the affluent urban areas, people in
China's rural areas are easier to be victims of inferior goods and
unsafe food because of lax supervision and financial
difficulties.
The SFDA also asked local food and drug agencies to severely
punish those who engage in producing and marketing fake or
substandard goods.
Late last month, the Chinese government started a four-month
nationwide campaign to improve the quality of goods and food
safety.
The campaign will target farm produce, processed food, catering
sector, drugs, pork, imported and exported goods and products in
close link to human safety and health.
(Xinhua News Agency September 1, 2007)