China punishes food producers


September 25, 2007 - 4:19PM


China's government says it has revoked the food production licences of hundreds of companies, including producers of rice and monosodium glutamate, in its latest crackdown on unclean or unsafe manufacturing practices.

Chinese food, drug and other exports ranging from toothpaste to seafood are under intense scrutiny because they have been found to contain potentially deadly substances. Domestically, the problem occurs regularly.

One of China's major product safety watchdogs said in a statement posted on its website that it had recently revoked the food production licences of 564 Chinese companies.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said the decision was part of a "special campaign to ensure product quality and food safety and strengthen food safety supervision."

It didn't say specifically when the licences were cancelled.

It named the three worst offenders, but did not give details of their violations.

They were the Shijiazhuang Good Cook Food Factory, a monosodium glutamate factory in northern China's Hebei province, the Hefei Wanmaomao Quick-frozen Food Co in Anhui province in the east, and Kaiping Shagang District Xinfengsheng Rice Factory in the southern Guangdong province.

The other companies had their food production licences revoked because they were found to be manufacturing goods they weren't licensed to make, or because they had moved or were being renovated, it said.

After an initial reluctance, the government has launched an aggressive campaign to win back consumer confidence by issuing new regulations, cracking down on violators and setting up a Cabinet-level panel to monitor quality.

© 2007 AP DIGITAL