China’s Ministry of Health said today (8 December) it will launch a four-month campaign to crack down on the use of illegal food additives and improve supervision of the ingredients industry.
A statement on the ministry’s website said the campaign, to start on 10 December, would first set out to establish a list of illegal additives being used in China and the foods they were likely to be found in.
It will then make public the companies using such additives and punish individuals involved in their distribution. It also plans to improve supervision of the additives industry and urge food companies and additive makers to carry out their own inspections.
The move comes after high levels of the industrial chemical melamine were found in a range of dairy foods made in China. Melamine-contaminated milk powder caused at least six infants to die and sickened 300,000, according to data released last week. More than 800 children are still in hospital with kidney and urinary tract problems.
“The aim is to effectively control the illegal use and over-use of non-food additives to protect public health and to improve the healthy development of the food industry and food additive industry,” said the ministry statement.
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