$73m to beef up food safety surveillance

China will spend 500 million yuan ($73 million) to build wide-ranging surveillance systems to ensure its agricultural products are safe, the agriculture ministry said.

As part of the recent 4-trillion-yuan fiscal stimulus package, the money is expected to spur a further 165.4 million yuan in local investment, the website of Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.

Quoting an unnamed source with the Ministry of Agriculture, the report said the money will be spent on "are to further enhance China's capabilities and levels in inspecting the quality and safety of its agricultural products".