Vice Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday called for strict and harsh punishments against food safety violations and urged strengthened supervision to ensure food safety.

Li, also head of the food safety commission under the State Council, or China's cabinet, told participants at a plenary meeting of the commission that authorities should take a pro-active approach to deter violations.

Prominent problems that threaten food safety have not been fundamentally rooted up, and China still faces a grave situation in ensuring its food safety, he said at the meeting.

China will continue its heavy-handed measures against criminal offenses in food scandals and seek to establish a long-term mechanism to check food safety in 2012, Li said at the meeting, during which an agenda for the priorities of China's annual food safety work was reviewed.

Incentives and regulations will be established to improve enterprises' management over food products, and the public will be invited to supervise them, according to the meeting.

Government departments' roles in monitoring food safety will be comprehensively strengthened in 2012, according to the meeting.

(Xinhua News Agency February 8, 2012)