A policeman from Shenyang, China throwing out deteriorated chicken during a public campaign to destroy substandard food - Credit: EPA
sentences, including the death penalty, to people convicted of food safety violations as the government struggles to clean up the nation's food supply after repeated scandals.
The Supreme People's Court said courts should impose longer jail terms and larger fines on people found guilty of violating food safety regulations and that death sentences should be given in cases where people died.
The directive was announced Friday in a report by the official Xinhua news agency that the high court posted on its website.
Chinese officials preparing to destroy confiscated milk products
The directive runs counter to efforts by China's top court and legislature to reduce the use of the death penalty.
China executes more people than all other countries combined, but its leadership is in the midst of a new campaign to stamp out persisting contamination of food products - from tainted baby milk to dirty cooking oil - that have stirred public anger.
As part of the push, the government has recently encouraged more openness in reporting food problems in the tightly controlled media.
The Supreme People's Court notice said information relating to food safety cases should be made public in a timely manner and urged open trials when dealing with major cases.
The notice also urged severe punishments for government officials who take bribes and shield people who commit food safety crimes, as well as harsher financial penalties for manufacturers who produce tainted food items.
Three years after China was rocked by a massive tainted-milk scandal, the country has again been hit by a wave of food scares in recent weeks.
The list includes diseased pigs used for bacon; noodles made of corn, ink and paraffin; rice contaminated with heavy metals, sausages made of rotten meat and fertiliser; and pork described as "Tron blue" because it glowed in the dark from bacteria.
Source: Agencies
China executes more people than all other countries combined, but its leadership is in the midst of a new campaign to stamp out persisting contamination of food products - from tainted baby milk to dirty cooking oil - that have stirred public anger.
As part of the push, the government has recently encouraged more openness in reporting food problems in the tightly controlled media.
The wave of food scares include pork described as
The notice also urged severe punishments for government officials who take bribes and shield people who commit food safety crimes, as well as harsher financial penalties for manufacturers who produce tainted food items.
Three years after China was rocked by a massive tainted-milk scandal, the country has again been hit by a wave of food scares in recent weeks.
The list includes diseased pigs used for bacon; noodles made of corn, ink and paraffin; rice contaminated with heavy metals, sausages made of rotten meat and fertiliser; and pork described as "Tron blue" because it glowed in the dark from bacteria.
Source: Agencies
Warm Regard, Sara Pandian
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