China's food and drug watchdog Thursday said it will establish two national panels of experts who will give advice before new tonic food and cosmetic products are approved.

The State Food and Drug Administration published two regulations concerning the management of expert panels, one for tonic food and another for cosmetic products, on its website.

The two panels, composed of researchers chosen from a larger pool of experts, will be responsible for scientific evaluations and research on product, registration policies, and technical consultancy.

This is seen as the government's new move to regulate booming industries of tonic and cosmetic products, which, however, have long been plagued by safety scandals and bogus products.

The expert panel for tonic food will include specialists in food science and engineering, pre-clinical, clinical and prevention medicine, public health, traditional Chinese medicine, pharmacy and chemistry, among other fields.

The cosmetic product panel will include specialists in chemistry, microbiology, toxicology and dermatology, according to the regulations.

(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2010)