Ports across the country have been ordered to increase their vigilance to ensure the safety of imported food products, in particular, according to the State Administration for Quality Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine.

Diseases such as AIDS, anthrax, tuberculosis and foot-and-mouth disease, have been emphasized in the quarantine authorities "blacklist."

The administration is preparing to set up a nationwide quick-reaction network against epidemics next year to deal with any such breakouts.

Quarantine officials noted at their annual national work meeting held this week in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province, that the country's huge population, as well as the agricultural and stock-breeding industries are particularly "vulnerable'' to such alien epidemics.

The country's quarantine watchdogs at all levels detected 2,462 import cases of these diseases from January to November this year, according to official statistics.

In addition, the country's entry-exit inspection and quarantine authorities checked a total of 1.02 million admissions during the first 11 months of this year, discovering 82,000 cases involving a variety of diseases, 211 of them proving to be AIDS, said the administration.

Quarantine officials revealed that a number of State-level quarantine laboratories are to be built next year, to be used to collect and analyze information about epidemics occurring abroad and at the same time to provide effective and advanced solutions to handle outbreaks of these diseases in China, as well as timely guidance and consultation.

Using foreign technologies and with strong financial support from the central and local governments, these labs are expected to be up to international standards, and will help improve the efficiency of the country's quarantine networks.

The administration also urged its branches across the country to pour more funds into epidemic research to cope with any potential epidemic disasters.

In addition, the country will further strengthen its quality supervision over export products to ensure a good international reputation for "Made in China'' products, according to the administration.

The administration minister Li Changjiang noted that the administration will take the responsibility of protecting the interests of both domestic and foreign consumers now that the country has formally become a WTO member.

According to Li, the administration will strengthen its license system for both export and import products, under which domestic and foreign products will be certificated and accredited in line with international standards.

During the first 11 months of this year, the country's entry-exit quality and quarantine offices confiscated 36,000 batches of unqualified products valued at US$2.4 billion.

And earlier last month, the administration launched a 100-day nationwide product quality inspection in home markets to ensure a "safe market" for domestic consumers in the coming year.

(China Daily December 16, 2001)