The Shenzhen municipal people's congress combined 17 food safety proposals into one motion Thursday, demanding the city government basically get rid of substandard food within its term.

The motion asked for tough measures to improve food safety, and demanded apparent improvements to be made within two years.

The proposals on food safety management in Shenzhen, raised by 116 deputies, focused on strengthening efforts to better the city's food market.

Inefficient management on food market, out-dated slaughterhouses system, polluted farms, and unlicensed food processing were summarized in proposals as the main causes for food problems. The city's health bureau received 36 reports on food poisoning involving 728 people last year. Deputies proposed that the city government should regulate laws to standardize food processing, improve the food safety inspection system and set a credit system for food enterprises to guarantee food safety.

The conference received another 206 proposals each of which signed by at least 10 deputies and 329 individual proposals. Proposals reflecting three concentrated problems — public transport, urbanization of Bao'an and Longgang districts and pollution renovation in Nantou Peninsula, were selected as key proposals to be solved by government departments. Other proposals are also expected to be dealt with one by one.

(Shenzhen Daily June 3, 2005)