Two months after four people sued Beijing for delays in warning
people not to eat snails infested with parasites the city has come
up with a series of alerts and actions it'll take in the event of
an outbreak of illness caused by contaminated food.
When a food emergency occurs the city will immediately put teams
into action to handle medical treatment, testing and assessment,
news briefings and investigations, according to a newly released
emergency plan.
The city's food safety authorities will also seize, ban or
recall food products that are determined to be harmful.
The city's quick response measures will involve the municipal
and county government departments of health, education, public
security and industry and commerce administrations, the plan
explains.?
The plan was issued by the capital's emergency management and
food safety offices on Sunday. Food safety has become one of the
top concerns of city residents following a series of food-related
incidents last year.
Between June 24 and August 9 dozens of people were sickened by a
parasite after eating raw or undercooked snails in a city
restaurant. In November four people, who were hospitalized after
eating the snails, launched a suit against the city's health
bureau. They claim the city didn't make public the dangers posed by
the snails until August 17. The results of their law suit aren't
yet known.
The country's food and drug regulator, the State Food and Drug
Administration, is evaluating food safety measures in 31 major
cities. The campaign, in its fourth year, aims to evaluate the
performance of local government food safety supervision and
citizen's level of satisfaction with their work over the past 12
months.
(Xinhua News Agency January 15, 2007)