China is going to set food & drug police force to crack down on the crimes on food and drug.

On March 28, 2014, at the joint press conference of the State Food & Drug Administration and the Ministry of Public Securities, the concerned governmental official of the Ministry of Public Securities confirmed that China is going to set the Investigative Bureau on Violations of Food and Drug Laws (食品药品违法侦查局) to protect the “safety at the tip of tongues” (舌尖上的安全).  The police force on food and drug safety will be focusing on cracking down on the manufacturing and sale of fake food and drug.    

There are many reasons about why China is to set the police force.  The primary reason is that the criminals on food and drug crimes are becoming professional and sophisticated.  However, the police in China have not upgraded their investigative techniques and built up man power for a long time.  In the current investigative force of the State Food & Drug Administration, there are more staff processing papers than doing investigation and technical analysis.  As a result, the crimes on fake food and drug have been usually resolved in an administrative way other than in a criminal way.  The criminals are just fined other than jailed.

It is not decided yet where to slot the food & drug police.  There are three possibilities.  The first possibility is to set up an internal organization right under the State Food & Drug Administration to the effect that the internal organization would have power to enforce the criminal law.  The second possibility is that the State Food & Drug Administration and the Ministry of Public Security set up a joint force, so are their regional branches.  The third possibility is that the investigative force is set affiliated with the Ministry of Public Security and each regional public security bureau.  No matter what possibility could be, the State Drug and Food Administration and the Ministry of Public Security (and their local branches) will cooperate with each other to streamline the concerned criminal investigations.

For the original Chinese news report, please follow the link.