China proposes new food safety laws

BEIJING, April 20 (UPI) -- China, stung by global concerns about the safety of its food exports, has published a draft of new laws that will include life in prison for violators.

The draft was published Sunday on the National People's Congress Web site, www.npc.gov.cn, for public comments.

The document covers food safety evaluation, monitoring, recall and information release, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Penalties for producers of substandard food products range from fines and confiscation of their incomes to revocation of production certificates. In serious cases, they could face prison terms ranging from three years to life.

The Xinhua report noted Chinese industries have come under scrutiny in recent years over domestic and foreign consumer concerns about substandard products or tainted food. The report said food-related incidents, some of which have resulted in deaths, have involved vegetables with pesticide residue, fish contaminated with suspected carcinogens and eggs tainted with industrial dyes.

In early March, China's leading lawmaker Wu Bangguo promised to give the public more say in the formulation of the food safety law.