Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Food and drug safety in China is "grim" and will get stronger oversight, the food and drug regulator said on Wednesday, after a series of scares last year hit the reputations of global firms such as McDonald's and Wal-Mart.
The China Food and Drug Administration has struggled to control a string of high-profile scandals over the years, from donkey meat products tainted with fox, heavy metals in baby food and allegations of expired meat sold to fast-food chains.
"We must soberly recognise the current foundations of China's food and drug safety are still weak, with new and old risks together creating a grim situation," the regulator said in a statement on its website after a meeting in Beijing this week.
Safety scares have affected the reputations and China sales of global companies from US fast-food chains McDonald's and Yum Brands to retailers such as Wal-Mart and France's Carrefour.
China will increase "active" regulation to prevent food and drug safety scares, with more on-site inspections, random tests and unannounced visits, the regulator said. The quality of personnel, legal structures, management methods and technological aspects were all currently insufficient, it said.
In recent years, China has experienced many scandals in virtually every sector, from food to pharmaceuticals, involving low quality or tainted products.
The best known cases are that of melamine-tainted milk powder, which caused the deaths of at least six infants and made about 300,000 seriously ill; gelatine-injected shrimps; and poisonous toothpaste.
As it becomes increasingly linked to the economy of mainland China, even Taiwan has been affected by the problem.