China steps up campaign on food safety awareness

A campaign that aims to boost the public's role in safeguarding food safety and promote awareness of the issue was launched at the 9th China Food Safety Annual Conference, which closed on Sunday.Food safety has a bearing on people's health as well as the nation's sound and harmonious development, said Shi Xiushi, chairman of the Financial and Economic Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC), at the opening, calling for efforts to raise companies' sense of responsibility and consumers' awareness in preventing and dealing with food safety crimes.The new campaign is part of a broader five-year program (2011-2015) of food safety education announced by the State Council Food Safety Commission (SCFSC) in May.The program aims for more than 80 percent of the public to be aware of basic food safety by 2015, with the rate for primary and high-school students reaching up to 85 percent or more.