Chinese prosecutors continue protecting food, drug safety

China's top procuratorate has vowed to maintain a tough stance against crimes related to food and drug safety, focusing on online platforms and livestreaming sales.

Du Xueyi, a senior prosecutor with the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), made the remarks on Thursday while introducing the SPP's effort to combat crimes related to this issue.

In the first 11 months of 2024, procuratorial agencies nationwide indicted 12,987 suspects, including 5,727 suspects of drug-related crimes and 7,260 charged with harming food safety, according to Du.

Du added that in March 2024, the SPP launched a special campaign to crack down on manufacturing and selling counterfeit or shoddy products, especially offenses involving online marketing and livestreaming sales that affect people's lives.

Crimes related to food and drug safety are one of the focuses of law enforcement authorities' acts to safeguard the public interest.

According to a separate SPP statement, the SPP has initiated an operation to supervise public interest litigations to target problems with food and drug safety to the people's concern.

The operation will strengthen procuratorial oversight over 10 key areas, including illegal food additives, agricultural products and medical devices. It will last until October, the SPP said.