CHINA'S State Council yesterday passed a draft regulation mandating stronger supervision over food safety and bigger fines for companies caught breaking the law.

The draft rule "strictly regulates the activities of producers, strengthens the responsibility of local governments and increases the punishment for illegal activities," according to a statement posted on the government's Website.

Premier Wen Jiabao said product quality and food safety are closely linked with people's lives, producers' reputations and the nation's image. Departments at all levels must attach great importance to the issue, he said.

Participants at yesterday's meeting of China's Cabinet also promised greater international cooperation, better safety checks and improved openness about quality problems.

China will also step up inspections on the use of antibiotics in fish farms, including chemicals that can cause cancer, after contaminants caused trading partners to block its seafood exports.

"We are focusing on getting a hold on antibiotic use, especially overuse of antibiotics on fish and crustaceans, including nitrofurans and malachite green," Zhang Yuxiang, director of the market and economic information department of the Ministry of Agriculture, told a news conference yesterday.

The ministry said last month that malachite green, a cancer-causing chemical used by fish farmers to kill parasites, had been found in some food samples, as well as nitrofurans, an antibiotic also linked to cancer.

Last month, the United States Food and Drug Administration said a sampling of imported Chinese seafood from October 2006 through May 2007 found that more than 15 percent of shipments were contaminated with antimicrobial agents which are not approved for use in farm-raised seafood in the US.

Meanwhile, sting operations on fake-drug rings were conducted between August 2005 and May 2006 and involved gangs spread across the country, two of which sold their products via the internet or by e-mail, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

On July 10, China executed the former head of its food and drug watchdog for approving untested medicine for cash, including an antibiotic that killed at least 10 people.

In the investigation into counterfeit drugs, police in five cities and provinces arrested 19 suspects in May 2006, closed six factories and seized 40 tons of materials used to produce fakes of the flu treatment Tamiflu. The raid followed a tip from the US Customs office in Beijing, according to a statement of the ministry.