Zero tolerance for food safety crimes offence in China

Beijing : China called for harsher punishment, even death penalty on food safety crimes, state media said on Thursday.

The Xinhua News Agency cited a joint notice issued by the Public Security Bureau and three top law agencies as saying “severe or large-scale food safety cases must be strictly punished.”

“Those deserving death penalties should be resolutely sentenced to death,” Xinhua quoted the notice as saying. The notice warned harsher punishment for government officials, who accept bribes and protect or ignore food safety offenders.

“Officials who are involved in food safety crimes should not be given a reprieve or be exempt from criminal punishment,” it quoted the notice as saying.

China overhauled its food safety management after a series of scandals that frightened consumers at home and abroad, including a problem two years ago with tainted baby formula that killed six children and caused suffering to about 300,000.

That scandal led to prison terms for dairy executives deemed responsible and a shake-up of the Chinese milk industry. Two people were executed.

Other food safety problems have included seafood treated with cancer-causing antibiotics or antimicrobials, eggs colored with industrial dye, and fake liquor that can cause blindness or death.

The announcement was issued Wednesday by the Public Security Bureau, The Supreme Court, the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, Xinhua said.