People buy vegetables in a market at Hefei, Anhui Province, Sept. 11, 2010. (Photo : Xinhua)
The Chinese government is set to impose a stricter Food Safety Law that will come into effect on the first day of October, a senior official with the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) said on Tuesday.
Guo Wenqi made the announcement at a seminar on food safety and rule of law in Guangzhou, the capital of south China's Guangdong Province.
Earlier in April, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's top legislative body, adopted an amendment to the 2009 Food Safety Law that includes the harshest civil, administrative and criminal penalties yet for offenders and their supervisors.
The CFDA has been working with a dozen agencies, including financial institutions as well as tax collection and fiscal departments, on dealing with food safety violators, said Guo Xiaoguang, head of CFDA Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement.
According to the state-owned Xinhua News Agency, the revised law will place restrictions on loans, taxation, bidding and land use on offending enterprises. Whistleblowers will also get bigger rewards from the CFDA.
"We encourage tip-offs from the public and food industry associations," said Hua Jingfeng, deputy head of Public Order Administration at the Ministry of Public Security.
Hua said that the ministry is looking for trained police specializing in food-related crimes and that 21 provincial public security departments now have food safety teams.
The Supreme People's Court (SPAC) is also taking measures to promote awareness on food safety laws. Trials for notorious food-related crimes, for example, will be put on live broadcast, said Guan Yingshi, a spokesman from the SPC.
The Supreme People's Procuratorate has also vowed to take action over neglect of duty in food production facilities as well as in safety supervision.
"By analyzing the underlying causes of the cases through investigations and trials and drawing lesson from them, the SPP will be able to give advice and help businesses set up regulations and fix loopholes," said Huo Yapeng of the SPP.
