Officials to be graded on how well they protect people's food

SHANGHAI - Local governments have introduced a range of measures to crack down on food safety violations in the wake of recent scandals.

Governments in the cities of Beijing and Shanghai and the provinces of Zhejiang and Guangdong have incorporated the local food safety situation into the evaluation of officials' work, according to a statement released on Saturday by the office of the food safety commission under the State Council.

"The attention and tightened supervision from local governments is a good sign. It will help control and prevent food safety problems in the country," said FanZhihong, a nutrition and food safety professor at China Agricultural University.