Police to create city food safety detective team

City police are setting up a team of detectives dedicated to tackling food safety crimes, the annual session of the Shanghai People's Congress heard Tuesday.  [Special coverage]

Under the control of the police bureau, the team will bring together law enforcement officers from government bodies and train new personnel, said Bai Shaokang, vice mayor and director of Shanghai Public Security Bureau.

"We need a zero-tolerance attitude to food safety criminals," Bai told legislators.

He said this will drive improvements in food safety management and help build a unified food safety network.

A total of 416 suspects in food safety cases were detained in 137 cases in Shanghai last year — up 49 percent on 2012, said Yan Zuqiang, director of the Shanghai Food Safety Office.

"The city's police authority has begun collaborating with the office to jointly crack down on cases," Yan told the congress.

Yan said the overall food safety rate in the city was 94 percent last year, up 1.5 percent on 2012's figure.

But some lawmakers were sceptical of this figure, while concerns were also raised that punishments for food safety breaches were too light.

Currently, the fine for committing food safety offences is 2,000 yuan (US$330) if the value of products involved is less than 10,000 yuan, said lawmaker Xu Liping.

"The value of a steamed bun is small but the consequences of eating a bad steamed bun can be enormous," Xu said.

Food safety regulations also came under scrutiny, with another vice mayor, Weng Tiehui, saying the city will revise and upgrade the regulations as many are out-of-date.

Standards are being upgraded for frozen chicken in the wake of recent cases of H7N9 bird flu, Weng said.

Lawmakers also raised their concerns on temporary stalls selling food and clothes, which can impede access to Metro entrances.

Authorities have decided to remove illegal food stalls near stations, turning the areas into public squares and locating toilets there, officials said.

The city government has tackled more than 2,700 cases of illegal stalls and restaurants in the last two years, but they remain a major problem.