Food and drug authorities receive 1.03 million reports in 2016

Authorities across China received 1.03 million reports regarding food and drug safety from the public last year, the China Food and Drug Administration said on Friday.

That figure represents a 34 percent year-on-year increase and is four times higher than in 2013 when the CFDA was established.

Rising concerns over food and drug safety among the public and authorities’ efforts to better communicate with people are the main reasons for the surge in reports, according to Sun Xianze, deputy chief of the CFDA.

More than 80 percent of reports were about ordinary food, with the rest concerning drugs, health foods, cosmetics and medical equipment, according to the CFDA.

Most of the complaints and whistle-blowing activities involved violations concerning the distribution of food and drugs, such as businesses operating without permission or selling substandard food.

About 75 percent of all reports were received through the administration’s hotline "12331", with food and drug authorities in Beijing, Shanghai, Shandong and Guangdong provinces receiving the most, Sun said.

These reports have become a major source of information for food and drug authorities to discover and fight violations, he added, with 60 percent of the CFDA’s biggest cases last year originating from such sources.

Food and drug authorities across China awarded nearly 12 million yuan ($1.7 million) to whistleblowers in 2016, compared with 10 million yuan in 2015.