China's food and drug watchdog on Thursday vowed to crack down on illegal sale and disposal of expired food.
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The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) issued a circular, requiring food and drug authorities at all levels to make sure expired food be withdrawn from market.
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The SFDA will target practices such as using expired food as ingredients, falsifying expiration dates, repackaging and recycling expired food.
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Food producers and distributors should dispose of expired food in an environmentally friendly way, or have expired food recycled as feed or fertilizers by licensed processors.
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The SFDA warned that, malpractice will be recorded in food companies' credit files, and low-credit companies will be subject to frequent inspections.
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Violators may have their licences revoked and be added into a "blacklist", the SFDA said.Â