Beijing is trying to make it easier to pull unsafe food products from the shelves with tough changes to the country's recall regulations.
A draft put out for public consultation on Monday by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine tries to plug loopholes in regulations from 2007.
The amendments also make it easier to recall problematic food items. At present, food products can be recalled only when found to be harmful to health, contaminated or if they have gone bad.
And procedures to begin the recall process are complicated. Authorities must determine and classify the severity of the problem, with different procedures to be applied in each category. The amended regulations stipulate that food products should be recalled if they do not meet safety standards.
Under the amended regulations, the food safety watchdog or the food producer would begin the recall, which must start within three days.
The draft also spells out that recalled items cannot be reused for food production or resale after the toxic elements are removed. This is not mentioned in the existing regulation.
These stricter standards and simplified procedures come after a string of food scandals that have shaken public confidence in food on the mainland.