China pledges to solve major problems in food safety with 3 years

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Food safety is an issue that's been a big concern in China lately. On Tuesday, the State Council pledged to solve the major problems in food safety within the next three years. The government is planning to beef up its regulatory mechanism, which will include a more robust legal framework and more rigorous standards. They'll also make greater technical support available to ensure food safety.

Among the new measures announced, food safety will, for the first time, be used as criteria for assessing the annual performance of local governments. The government is also establishing a database to keep track of how companies are performing in terms of food safety. Those with bad records will end up on the black list which will be made available to the public, and they'll also be penalized by the government.

The new measures are being announced following the results of a national inspection of food businesses since the beginning of 2012. The report found 15,000 cases where food safety was not up to standards, and shut down 5,700 unlicensed businesses. Dairy products, edible oils, seasonal foods and alcoholic beverages were among the major food categories targeted.

Food safety is an issue that's been a big concern in China lately. On Tuesday, the State Council pledged to solve the major problems in food safety within the next three years. The government is planning to beef up its regulatory mechanism, which will include a more robust legal framework and more rigorous standards. They'll also make greater technical support available to ensure food safety.