“Those responsible for any serious food safety incidents must be punished to bankruptcy!” Premier Li Keqiang said at the State Council executive meeting on March 26.

The meeting adopted the draft regulation on the implementation of the Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China.

The draft defines the main responsibility of production operators, supervision duties and accountability measures of the government.

It also outlines decisions to severely punish enterprises and their legal representatives who violate laws and regulations, and to improve food safety standards and risk monitoring.

“Although some progress has been made in food safety work in recent years, it is still far from the expectations of the people,” the Premier said, adding that the bottom line must be firmly held to ensure food safety and safeguard people’s health.

Premier Li reiterated that penalties should be further increased for violators and their legal representatives, and study on a punishment mechanism to expel them from the market for life must be accelerated.

“It is necessary to clarify the departments responsible for executing large-scale fines according to legal procedures, ensuring reasonable punishment rules, and powerful law enforcement,” he said.

The regulation must be put into real practice to ensure that the punishment serves as a real deterrent, the Premier said.