Food additives have recently been in the spotlight, as many food factories are adding illegal additives during production. So far, cracking down on such behavior has become one of the priorities of the State Council. One factory in Eastern China's Jiangsu Province has made headlines for producing illegal additives.

This is the invoice that raised people's suspicion of an additive that one flavor factory is producing in Nanjing city, capital of Jiangsu Province.

It says the factory has spent more than 40-thousand yuan buying one mysterious mixture, used to produce preservatives.

Zhang Jianguo, Nanjing Liyuan Flavor Corporation said "Other materials come from legal channels, but this kind of material doesn't. Most people including me don't know what ingredient is in this preservative."

In the workshop, no name is found on the bag of the mixture, only English letters and numbers.

Mr Zhou is the engineer producing the preservative.

He says he uses six ingredients, but he can't explain clearly the basis for making the preservative.

Zhou Yongjun, Engineer of Nanjing Liyuan Flavor Corporation said "I make many experiments myself and don't just rely on the information in the book. That's how I manage to make this preservative."

To prove the safety of this product, Mr Zhou presents the so called "Test Report".

However, the report doesn't pass the safety evaluation by the local authority.

Though not legally approved, this preservative has become a flagship product for its good effect, selling dozens of tons every year.

At the Nanjing Quality Supervision and Inspection Bureau, staff say the factory has no right to produce preservatives because it is not in the range of flavors.

In response, staff from local authority seal up one ton of preservative, and forbid the factory from producing any more in the future.

Wang Jinxiu, Nanjing Quality Supervision and Inspection Bureau said "This factory is producing preservatives illegally, without any permit. We will deal with the case according to China's Food Safety Law."

Despite Chinese regulators's efforts to fight against such behavior, adding illegal food additives is not uncommon in China. Many say the battle to crack down on illegal additive abuse still has a long way to go.

(CNTV May 19, 2011)