Taste with Chinese Characteristics: China is cracking down on poor food
safety amid a string of scares over toothpaste, pet foods, and other goods.

-- Micky's Comment: Question remians that how effective the already
corrupted Chinese system will be ?! --

China acts over poor food safety

China is cracking down on poor food safety amid a string of scares over
toothpaste, pet foods, and other goods.

The government published a five-year plan late on Tuesday to increase
inspections and tests on exported food.

Singapore has become the latest country to take action against Chinese
toothpaste imports found to contain a chemical contained in anti-freeze.

The chemical, diethylene glycol, has been blamed for the deaths of at
least 50 people in Panama last year.

"Monitoring and administering food and pharmaceutical safety must be at
the very heart of grassroots and base work," according to a document
published on a government website on Tuesday.

"Food safety is not only a problem related to law enforcement, but also
related to the people's health and safety, the country's image, and also
bilateral and multilateral political relationships," said Li Changjiang,
the head of China's main food safety agency.

In the future "illegal activities behind production and sale of fake and
shoddy foods and pharmaceuticals will be effectively contained," the
five-year plan says.

Mr Li, and his deputy Wei Chuanzhong, called for better safety testing,
and for those who ignore safety regulations to be punished.

Potentially deadly

Singapore has banned three brands of toothpaste imported from China,
after tests showed they contained diethylene glycol.

The city state's health authority found that the Hei Mei, Hei Mei
Calcium and Maxam brands contained between 0.8%% and 3.9%% of the
chemical, and ordered the items off the shelves.

US officials have already warned consumers to avoid using toothpaste
made in China. On Thursday Nicaraguan health authorities seized 40,000
tubes of Chinese-made toothpaste after they were found to contain
diethylene glycol (DEG).

The Dominican Republic, Panama and Costa Rica have already removed
thousands of tubes of toothpaste from store shelves.

In addition to being used as a coolant, DEG is sometimes used as a
low-cost but potentially deadly substitute for glycerine sweetener
commonly used in medicines.

It was found in the cough syrup and other medicines blamed for last
year's deaths in Panama.

US inspectors have also blamed exported Chinese pet food ingredients,
contaminated with melamine, for the deaths of cats and dogs in North
America.

Thirteen babies also died of malnutrition in China in 2005, after being
fed powdered milk that contained no nutritional value.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/6725595.stm

Published: 2007/06/06 09:06:31 GMT