China to combat dodgy health food

BEIJING - China will crack down on illegal activities related to health food amid efforts to combat severe food scandals, the country's food and drug watchdog said on Thursday.

The China Food and Drug Administration will run a nationwide campaign between May and September against illegal production, sales and promotion of health food. Claiming that common food can help healthcare will also be punished, the administration's spokeswoman Yan Jiangying told a press conference.

This will be the first campaign since the newly formed administration began operating in March. It integrated the monitoring functions of several government organs and became a ministerial-level agency to improve food and drug safety.

The consumption of health food, or dietary supplements, has increased rapidly in recent years, Yan said.

As of the end of last year, 2,006 companies were engaged in the health food business, reporting total revenues of 280 billion yuan ($45 billion), she said.

Yan said illegal activity is rampant in the sector, including the use of illegal additives in dieting supplements.

The campaign will be the first in a series of campaigns to be conducted by the CFDA to improve food safety, she said.