Shanghai's first food-safety law is expected to be issued before the 2010 World Expo, delegates of Shanghai People's Congress said while visiting the Shanghai Institute for Food and Drug Control on Monday.

The local law will be in line with the nation's new food-safety law, a draft of which is under examination. Shanghai's law will also take the city's individual circumstances into account.

The Shanghai People's Congress, the local law maker, said the law has been included in the city's five-year legislation plan (2008-2012) and should be launched early 2010.

Local food and drug authorities are also planning to establish a food and drug safety evaluation center with inspection facilities.

The laboratories at the Shanghai Institute for Food and Drug Control will improve the city's ability to deal with urgent events related to food and drugs, including methods to track genetically modified food, inspection platforms for food additives and evaluation methods for different kinds of food pollutants.

"Shanghai faces food-safety challenges due to the amount of food imported from other provinces and cities, an immature food-supply market nationwide, the pursuit of low prices at the expense of quality and a lack of regulation," said Xie Minqiang of the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration.

(Shanghai Daily December 16, 2008)