Beijing's health authorities have launched food security
inspections in hotels and restaurants amid preparations for the
2008 Olympic Games.
The Beijing Health Bureau has defined four safety grades for
more than 30,000 hotels and restaurants that will be inspected in
the city. Establishments that only make the bottom two grades will
be urged to carry out improvements, according to Jin Dapeng,
director of the bureau.
"The purpose of the inspections is to ensure safe and
comfortable dining for everyone in Beijing," Jin said.
Beijing has set up a food safety committee involving 16
government departments and an expert panel for the 2008
Olympics.
"Food security efforts for the 2008 Olympic Games are in full
swing," said Zhang Zhikuan, director of the Beijing Municipal
Bureau for Industry and Commerce.
The city has also established a food safety monitoring system in
both Chinese and English, which will track food processing and
transportation for the Olympic Games.
Early this week, Beijing publicized the alerts and actions it
will take in the event of an outbreak of illness caused by
contaminated food.
When a food emergency occurs, the city will immediately set up
teams to handle medical treatment, testing and assessment, news
briefings and investigations, according to the emergency plan.
The city said that 753 people were affected by 68 food poisoning
incidents last year.
(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2007)