Taking a tougher stance on food safety

Greater funds for inspection in poor areas

BEIJING - Some quality inspection bureaus at the county-level are ill-equipped and lacking in the talent needed to do their job, an official at China's food safety watchdog acknowledged on Monday, while promising that spending on local bureaus would be increased over the next five years.

Zhi Shuping, minister of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said the government will come up with polices to improve spending on county-level bureaus in under-developed regions as part of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).