Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang has vowed to implement further reforms in food and drug safety administration and level the "harshest penalties" for violations.
China's official Xinhua news agency reported Saturday that Wang made the remarks during an inspection of Beijing's food safety monitoring center on Friday.
He told enforcers of local food and drug laws that a serious accountability system should be established to punish those who fail to perform their duties.
Chinese police arrested five employees of a Shanghai-based food supplier in July, accused of selling expired meat to several fast food chains in China, including McDonald's and KFC.
China's Dragon TV reported workers were mixing expired meat with fresh product, re-labeling out-of-date goods, and using meat that had fallen onto the floor.
