Chinese authorities summon local official over school food safety incident

BEIJING, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities have summoned the principal official of the government of Benxi City in northeast China's Liaoning Province, after a local school canteen was accused of serving students leftovers retrieved from garbage bins.

The office of the food safety commission under China's State Council, as well as the Ministry of Education and the State Administration for Market Regulation, said that the extremely severe incident has revealed that the school in question failed to fulfill its responsibilities and meet relevant requirements, and that there were obvious flaws in its canteen management.

The authorities stressed that food safety is crucial to the lives and health of the public, and that school food safety is paramount, adding that ensuring school food safety is an unshirkable responsibility of Party committees and governments at all levels.

The authorities ordered Benxi City to take strong, effective measures to rectify the problem and make efforts to improve regulations regarding school food safety.

The office of the food safety commission under the State Council will conduct on-site inspections and oversee the implementation of the rectifications in Benxi City.