China vows 'zero tolerance' of food safety crime

Beijing: China is stepping up efforts to guarantee food quality with zero tolerance of food safety crime in a national conference on food safety presided over by Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday.

Food safety has a direct bearing on the health and safety of all people, and was a basic requirement of a moderately prosperous society, Li said.

He called for full implementation of the revamped Food Safety Law and pledged "zero tolerance" of food safety crimes, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

A food trace system monitoring the whole process of food production, logistics and sales should be established, Li said.

The conference was attended by Zhang Gaoli, head of a ministerial food safety committee under the State Council.

China's top legislature on April 24 adopted an amendment to the Food Safety Law that imposes the heaviest of penalties yet on offenders. It will go into effect on October 1 this year.