China has released a five-year plan to upgrade its food safety regulations as part of the country's ongoing efforts to address food safety concerns.

The government will improve national food safety standards by revamping outdated standards, reviewing and abolishing any contradicting or overlapping standards and working out new regulations, according to the plan posted on the website of the Ministry of Health on June 15.

China has more than 2,000 national food regulations and more than 2,900 industry-based regulations.

Many of the regulations are overlapping or contradict each other, since multiple government agencies were given the responsibility of compiling their own standards years ago.

According to the plan, 14 government departments, including the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Agriculture, will work together to finish revamping the existing standards by 2015.

The government will prioritize safety standards for dairy products, infant food, meat, alcohol, vegetable oil, seasoning, health products and food additives so as to specify limits for dangerous ingredients in these foods, says the plan.

Moreover, the government will make special efforts to set standards for testing various contaminants, food additives, microorganisms, pesticides and animal drug residue in food production by 2015.