TIMELINE: China's food safety scares in the spotlight

(Reuters) - China has stepped up a campaign to clean up its food industry after a series of food, drug and other safety scandals it fears will damage its global credibility.

Here is a timeline of some China-linked safety scares and their consequences over the past year:

(For a related story see CHINA HEALTH/ or)

* October 2006: Health officials in Taiwan impound a batch of hairy crabs from Yangcheng Lake, in China's eastern Jiangsu province, saying they contain nitrofuran, an antibiotic linked to cancer.

* November 2006: China culls more than 5,000 ducks that farmers have fed with a dye to make their eggs look redder and fresher. The eggs were found to contain Sudan II, a cancer-causing chemical.

* March 2007: A spate of pet deaths in North America is traced to Chinese suppliers' use of the chemical melamine, which was added to pet food wheat gluten and rice protein. At least 16 cats and dogs die; more than 100 pet food brands recall products.

* April-May: The U.S. Department of Agriculture says chickens, pigs and fish in the United States might have been given feed contaminated with melamine, but investigators say the chemical is unlikely to harm the animals or threaten human health.

* May 22: The Dominican Republic bans two brands of Chinese toothpaste fearing they contain the lethal chemical diethylene glycol, held responsible for mass poisoning deaths from cough syrups in Panama in 2006.

* June 1: China hits back, lambasting foreign goods for supposed safety and health problems. It turns away 30 tons of Australian seafood it says is tainted with heavy metals and fails five container loads of Evian mineral water for having too many micro-organisms.

* June 28: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration puts a temporary hold on imports of Chinese farm-raised catfish, shrimp and other seafood until suppliers can prove the shipments are free from harmful residues.

* July 10: Former State Food and Drug Administration chief Zheng Xiaoyu is executed, a month and a half after being convicted of taking bribes and dereliction of duty. His unusually swift execution marks the first time China has imposed a death sentence on an official of his rank since 2000. On the same day, state media announces up to half of all water used in Beijing water coolers could be tap water or sub-standard counterfeit.

* July 11: A primary school headmistress in Guangzhou, south China, is jailed for taking kickbacks from a food company whose catering caused 185 students and several teachers to fall ill the previous year.

* July 12: Beijing says it is investigating new scares over bogus rabies vaccines and dumplings stuffed with cardboard.

Source: Reuters