Food packets should list all additives

China.org.cn, May 14, 2011

All food producers in China should clearly list on packets the additives used in their products, China's health authorities said on Friday.

The content should be precise and understandable, said?a food safety?official of the Health Ministry.

There should be no words implying disease prevention or treatment functions, product name should not be misleading, and warnings of the possibility that additives in products may lead to allergy should also be stated on the packet, according to the official.

Also on Friday, the Health Ministry released a new regulation, banning more types of food additives to secure food safety.

The revised?regulation establishes national standards for the use of 2,314 additives, which include those used in food processing and flavoring.

The regulation also rules that additives should not be used to disguise rotten or damaged food.

Recently, the Chinese government has?carried out?a string of measures to?revamp the country's scandal-haunted food?industry.

Last month, steamed buns in Shanghai were reported to have been dyed, past the due by date or laced with coloring additives. About two month ago, pork products of China’s largest meat processor were found to contain a toxic additive that stops pigs accumulating fat. In 2008, melamine, a toxic additive that can make milk protein-rich, killed at least six babies and sickened 300,000 others across the country.