Chinese police nationwide have solved more than 1,000 cases that "severely" jeopardized food safety so far this year in the latest efforts to clean up the scandal-prone food industry.

In a special crackdown on the use of clenbuterol, a fat-burning drug used by violators to feed pigs to prevent them from accumulating fat, police seized 135 suspects and destroyed eight workshops that illegally produced the chemical, according to a statement released Thursday by the Ministry of Public Security.

Police also destroyed four stockhouses and confiscated some 2,000 kilograms of clenbuterol along with a large number of manufacturing equipment, the statement said.

According to the statement, the country's police have been intensifying regional cooperation and giving priority to food crime investigations.

"Some local police departments have adopted innovative measures such as setting up special food crime investigating organs and publicizing complaint hotlines in order to take initiative in checking and cracking down on food crimes," said the statement.

In addition, the ministry vowed a strengthened crackdown on food safety crimes and "severe punishment" for violators.

(Xinhua News Agency May 19, 2011)