The Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC) decided Tuesday to send five work groups to 10 municipalities and provinces to ensure a new food safety law is properly enforced.

The work groups, headed by five vice chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee, will visit the municipalities and provinces from September to December, according to a decision reached at the first plenary session of the work groups.

The work groups are scheduled to deliver their reports at the 13th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 11th NPC, the top legislature, slated for February next year.

In a written instruction forwarded to Tuesday's meeting, Wu Bangguo, Chinese top legislator, said the inspection was aimed at ensuring the Food Safety Law is effectively enforced, food safety guaranteed and people's immediate interests are well protected.

The new law, which went into effect on June 1 to replace an outdated Food Hygiene Law, was formulated to improve the efficiency of the food safety monitoring network through tougher standards, strict supervision, a recall system for substandard products and severe punishment on offenders.

Wang Zhaoguo, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, said efforts are needed to find out difficulties and problems following the implementation of the new law.

He also called for intensified efforts to address the difficulties and problems and give full play to the media's role as a supervisor.

The work groups are scheduled to visit the municipalities of Beijing and Chongqing, the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Heilongjiang, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian and Shandong, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Provincial-level legislature in other areas will be entrusted by the NPC to supervise the enforcement of the law.

(Xinhua News Agency September 22, 2009)