BEIJING -- China's food and drug watchdog on Thursday vowed to crack down on illegal sale and disposal of expired food.

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Administration (SFDA) issued a circular, requiring food and drug authorities at all levels to make sure expired food be withdrawn from market.

The SFDA will target practices such as using expired food as ingredients, falisifying expiration dates, repackaging and recycling expired food.

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.

The SFDA warned that, malpractice will be recorded in food companies' credit files, and low-credit companies will be subject to frequent inspections.

Violators may have their licences revoked and be added into a "blacklist", the SFDA said.