Foods sold in Chinese markets are safe: CFDA

On Friday, the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) said in the first half of this year more than 96 percent of foods sold in the Chinese mainland markets were safe and met national standards. The administration sampled 33,252 batches covering 24 types of foods nationwide, including crops, vegetable oil, meat, eggs and dairy products. In total, 96.3 percent of them met safety standards, according to the CFDA.

The major food safety problems found included the use of banned chemicals in food, excessive use of food additives and contamination by microorganisms, the administration said.

Teng Jiacai, deputy head of the CFDA, said a similar survey by the CFDA last year that collected 142,000 samples showed 94.7 of them met safety standards.

"Food safety in China has improved in the past two years," Teng said.

"The food and drug authorities will continue to improve supervision on food safety. We will also continue to create disclosure of information on food safety."