China Launches Food Safety Checks in Run-up to Olympics

China is launching a food safety monitoring system next month at test events for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the official Xinhua news agency reported Friday.

The system, to be launched on August 8, will monitor 10 categories including production, processing, sale and cooking, and daily reports will be issued.

It will be implemented at sports events being held next month to test facilities and logistics at venues being used for next year's Games.

The Beijing Municipal Food Safety Office will share the system with all of the other Olympic host cities, including Tianjin and Shanghai, Xinhua said.

The move comes amid rising international concern about the quality of goods that China exports.

Health scares have swirled around a range of Chinese-made exports, from toxic toothpaste ingredients to faulty tyres, pet food and toxic seafood.

China Thursday announced fresh measures to ensure substandard drugs are stopped from reaching stores.

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The nation's food and drug watchdog will have to abide by new regulations to improve transparency in the approval process of medicines and curb corruption within the industry, the China Daily reported.

Xinhua reported Wednesday that China has banned toothpaste companies from using diethylene glycol.

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Earlier this month officials announced that athletes and visitors heading to Beijing for the Olympics should not be concerned by recent Chinese food scandals, as many safety measures were being put in place for the Games.

Source-AFP
LIN/J