China cracks down on illegal food additives

China's food and drug watchdog on Friday urged a severe crackdown in 2012 on the addition of non-edible substances to food production, in a move to enhance food safety.

In a statement posted on its website, the State Food and Drug Administration called for intensified regulation of catering businesses with self-made hotpot seasoning, beverages and flavorings, and "severely fighting illegal acts of using non-food substances including poppy capsules and powder, Sudan Red and antibiotics."

The administration also demanded more scrutiny of the overuse of food additives, and standardizing the purchase, storage and use of the substances, according to the statement.

It said that relevant government departments across the country should strengthen the supervision of catering businesses' filing and publicizing of food additives.

In addition, local food and drug watchdogs are urged to beef up monitoring of food safety for rural students at primary and junior high schools, according to the statement.