"China will extend a nationwide crackdown on shoddy food products into the New Year as it seeks to restore confidence in the "made in China" label, according to a government statement seen Monday.
From January 1, the crackdown will focus on 28 categories of food, including rice, cooking oil, meat, dairy products, instant noodles, tea and beer, the nation's product quality watchdog said on its website.
The sale of such food products without the required quality and inspection certificates would also be curbed and violators severely punished, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said.
China has been embarrassed, and its vital exports sector threatened, in 2007 by mounting reports of shoddy, fake or dangerous food and other products.
Chinese-made goods ranging from seafood to car tyres to children's toys have been hit with bans and recalls overseas amid safety fears.
In response, China in August launched a four-month crackdown, which the official Xinhua news agency said had resulted in 192,400 unlicensed food shops being closed and some 1,254 tons of substandard food withdrawn from domestic markets.
The government had earlier also reported hundreds of arrests in the campaign, which had been set to conclude at year-end but will now continue.
The product watchdog's announcement made no mention of how the extended crackdown was expected to affect export products."
