IN BRIEF (Page 22)

New regulations to improve food safety

The State Council said on July 3 that food safety will become a measure of local governments' performance in their annual assessment and that the country will solve prominent problems in the industry in the next three years. The government also pledged to establish a better regulation mechanism, legal and standards system, technical support for food safety and improve the overall food safety management level of the food industry in around five years, said a State Council statement posted online.

"A database of safety records of food companies will be established and those on the blacklist will be exposed and punished," it said, adding that local authorities must prevent expired food products from returning to the market. Customers will be rewarded in cash for reporting illegal acts.