China's Ministry of Health issued a circular to health authorities on Thursday urging them to step up prevention of food contamination and monitoring of food quality-related illnesses.

The ministry urged health departments to strengthen the work of contamination monitoring stations in 16 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, and food-related illness monitoring stations in 21 provinces.

"New food safety problems keep arising, while the traditional food problems are still not effectively under control," said the circular, which followed the National People's Congress Standing Committee's adoption of the Food Safety Law on Saturday.

The circular required local health departments to collaborate with local governments to step up inspections of milk products, and to build a platform to share information on food safety.

Health Minister Chen Zhu said the ministry would create a national database of information about food contamination, food-related illnesses and diet surveys within two years.

He said hospitals and other health organizations had to report food poisoning and other food-related illnesses promptly to health departments, and those incidents should be handled swiftly and with care.

Chen said departments of agriculture, quality supervision, and industry and commerce administration would shoulder their responsibilities in a joint effort to strengthen the food monitoring system.

(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2009)