BEIJING - China's Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) said Friday it has launched a series of campaigns to deter illegal activities in the food sector in the wake of several notorious food safety scandals that have shocked the nation.

The campaigns mainly target excessive pesticide residue in vegetables, toxic clenbuterol in pig feed, illegal additives in dairy products, substandard veterinary medicine, banned additives in aquatic products and fake agricultural materials, according to a statement posted on the MOA website.

The ministry said it will step up supervision over production and supply chains to prevent unsafe products from entering the market.

Related readings:  China plans national overhauls for food safety  Restaurants asked to publicize food additives  China to crack down on illegal food additives

Those found violating the regulations will be severely punished, the statement said.

According to a monitoring survey conducted by the MOA in 141 major cities and farm produce areas, the qualification rate of vegetables, animal products and aquatic products stayed at the high levels of 97.1 percent, 99.8 percent, 97.8 percent, respectively.

But public concerns regarding food safety continue to grow as more scandals are made public.

The latest such cases included steamed buns dyed with unidentified chemicals and the use of the fat-burning addictive clenbuterol in pork.