China to tighten supervision of imported food

China will tighten the supervision of imported food products amid rapidly increasing consumption of such products, a senior official from the imported food safety watchdog said on Tuesday.

While boosting quality checks on domestic food products, quality inspectors will also take a closer look at imported food products, said Wei Chuanzhong, deputy director of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, who is also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He did not disclose detailed measures.

Chinese consumers are buying more imported food products, but an increasing number of quality problems have been found in these products, Wei said on the sidelines of the ongoing annual session of the CPPCC National Committee.

In January, border quality and quarantine officers discovered 247 batches of substandard imported cosmetics and food products, including meat, beverages, red wine and dairy products, according to the administration's data.

All the substandard products were either returned or destroyed.