Govt gets tough on food safety, quality

BEIJING - Chinese authorities punished a total of nearly 290 people in more than 5,200 food safety cases in 2011, according to new figures.

Sources with the State Council's Food Safety Committee said on Thursday that those who violated food safety laws were handed stiff sentences, including life imprisonment and the death penalty with probation, a special form of punishment in China in which a death sentence can be reduced to life imprisonment if the person commits no new crimes.

Law enforcement authorities closed more than 5,000 enterprises involved in food safety crimes and also gave administrative punishments to government officials for misconduct related to the cases.