The Number

270,000 complaints

Chinese authorities received nearly this number of complaints about food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and medical equipment in 2013, an official with the State Food and Drug Administration said on Monday. Most complaints were about unlicensed production, advertisements, unauthorized distribution, substandard products or banned additives, said Liu Pei, the administration's center director. Most complaints - 82 percent - were lodged via the 12331 hotline launched in 2012 and also through websites, letters and personal visits.