China to scrutinize food safety at tourist attractions

BEIJING - China's food and drug watchdog and tourism administration will jointly launch a food safety inspection in restaurants located in tourist attractions.

The inspection, initiated by the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) and the National Tourism Administration, will be carried out later this month ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, according to a Friday statement from the SFDA

Operators of tourist sites should ensure the safety of catering services, ban unlicensed businesses and give timely reports on the catering services' business operations to local food safety and tourism authorities, the statement said.

Authorities will check restaurants for unlicensed operation and ensure that regulations concerning restaurant workers' health management are strictly observed, the statement said.

Restaurants must carefully check the sources of their ingredients, keep records of their purchases and refrain from using unsafe ingredients, such as inedible herbs, poisoned animals and expired food, the statement said.

Authorities will check to make sure food is prepared hygienically and ensure the proper use of food additives, the statement said.

Six inspection teams will be sent to the provinces of Liaoning, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hainan, Sichuan and Guizhou, respectively, the statement said.