China appeals to common sense to ensure food safety

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese consumers need to take more personal responsibility in protecting themselves from tainted food by reading labels and not buying obviously shoddy or expired products, an official said on Friday.

But people should also not be scared to report worries to one of the numerous departments which oversee the issue, Bi Yu'an, a deputy inspector at the quality watchdog's food division, said during a Web cast on the central government's site (www.gov.cn).

The scope of the food and product problem has widened over the last year after a string of scandals involving substandard Chinese-made pet food, drugs and toys.

Millions of toys made in China were recalled, many by U.S. producer Mattel. The main problem was excessive levels of lead paint.

"I recommend that when you choose food, go for name brands and those with government-assured quality labels. These are the best quality goods," Bi said. "Also, pay attention to the production and expiry dates, and whether or not the packaging is complete or the contents distended.

"This is common sense. Do it every day. I've seen lots of female comrades learning how they should do this, and that way you can gradually build up your skills at working out what's bad and what's fake," he added.

Problems with food safety are particularly pronounced in China's vast countryside, where lax oversight of the many small factories has contributed to a string of food poisoning incidents.

Most recently, four children in the poor southern province of Yunnan died after eating a dried-noodle snack.

Public fears about food safety grew in 2004, when at least 13 babies died of malnutrition in Anhui province, in eastern China, after they were fed fake milk powder.

The government this week claimed early victory in a four-month food safety push, reporting the closure of thousands of unlicensed producers and seizure of tainted products.

Bi said anyone could and should report food safety problems.

"If you have a problem, any of the food safety supervision departments have a duty to help you solve it," he said.

China has acknowledged quality problems and insists it is cracking down. But it has also accused foreign media of hyping up the issue with hysterical reporting.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; editing by Nick Macfie and Roger Crabb)