Chinese authorities say they have found 23 categories of imported food to be unsafe, including milk and cooking oil. The announcement comes as part of the annual food safety publicity week. The government is calling for greater respect for both law and morality.
Ensuring our food is safe to eat. China continues to strengthen its inspection of food, both domestic and imported.
The national quality watchdog says it found 23 categories of unsafe imported foods, including milk, meat, water and wine from January to May.
"The major factors were overuse of food additives, microbial infections and bad quality," said Lin Wei, chief of Imported Food Safety Bureau, AQSIQ.
The Agriculture Ministry says, from January to May, 96.8 percent of vegetables and 92.9 percent of fruit in China were safe. But the China Food and Drug Administration found substandard milk powder, cakes and wine.
Vice Premier Wang Yang says there must be zero tolerance for food safety problems.
"We must implement the newly amended Food Safety Law, and speed up the drafting of related regulations. And we must improve the strictest supervision mechanism from planting, production to consumption," said Wang.
The government is calling on companies to abide by the law and uphold morality. But China's largest beverage producer is complaining about online rumours that can hurt food companies.
"Some rumors say our beverages contain botulism, or can cause leukemia. This is not only immoral but also illegal. Authorities and experts should promote better food safety knowledge and respond to rumors promptly, so that our companies can focus on production, rather than denying rumors," said Zong Qinghou, board chairman of Hangzhou Wahaha Group.
The media are being called on to play a better role in food safety reports.
During these two weeks, 14 Chinese ministries will be holding separate events to promote food safety awareness, especially among the teenagers. The authorities say they'll put in place the strictest food safety standards, and deal with violators with tough punishments. They've also invited the public to share in overseeing views, and report what they hear about infringements.
