Faced with a spate of food safety incidents and declining public confidence in the official response, authorities in Beijing have come up with a color-coded system of alerts and actions for dealing with food emergencies.

In the event of an outbreak of illness caused by unsafe food, public warnings will be given in the form of a four-level "pre-caution mechanism" blue for low-level threats, yellow for elevated, orange for high and red for severe, according to a food emergency response plan that took effect on Sunday.

The plan includes detailed standards for responses. For example, if the illness has affected more than 100 people or caused more than 10 deaths, it will be categorized as a high-level threat. If it also threatens other provinces, or involves Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan or foreign countries, it will automatically be considered a severe threat.

At each threat level, the local government is to implement a corresponding set of measures, including the establishment of special teams to handle medical treatment, assessments, investigations, logistics and the flow of information. Unsafe food products are to be confiscated, banned or recalled.

Filing reports

The plan, issued by the city's emergency management and food safety offices, encourages individuals and organizations to report unsafe foods and bans any delays or cover-ups.

The food safety office said the new rules would improve the city's ability to respond to food-related emergencies, which have been increasingly frequent in recent months. The plan is also expected to increase public confidence in the authorities' response capabilities.

In November, Beijing pulled duck eggs that had been contaminated with the industrial dye Sudan Red off of supermarket shelves, and halted sales of turbot, after the fish was found to have been contaminated with chemicals.

In addition, 87 people fell ill last summer after eating raw or half-cooked snails that had been contaminated with parasites at a Beijing restaurant.

In November, four people who had been sent to hospital after eating the snails filed a lawsuit against the city's health bureau, claiming it had failed to publicize the possible dangers associated with eating the snails in a timely manner. The lawsuit is still in process.

The frequency of such problems has taken its toll on the public's confidence in the authorities' ability to respond to food crises.

About 82 percent of the 4,482 people questioned across the country in a recent survey expressed concerns over food safety. About 40 percent of them said they had experienced such problems. The results of the survey were released yesterday.

Experts have been calling for better coordination among the departments charged with responding to food crises. Under the existing food regulatory system, several different departments are tasked with handling crises, making efficient supervision difficult.

To simplify the situation, the plan spells out a system for coordinating the efforts of the 18 bureaus concerned. It clearly defines each bureau's responsibilities.