BEIJING -- Chinese authorities will take unprecedented efforts to rectify the much-criticized food sector to prevent food safety scandals from further harming public confidence in the country's food producers.

The government will continue to overhaul the food sector, particularly concentrating on dairy products, cooking oil, health foods, meat and alcohol this year, said Zhang Yong, director of the executive office of the food safety commission under the State Council, the Cabinet.

He admitted in an interview with Xinhua that "China is in a period when food safety incidents are likely to arise" since the country's food sector is developing rapidly and a large number of food producers and catering operators run their businesses in a small-scale or haphazard way.

The government has announced further measures to ensure food safety after a series of scandals emerged recently, including tainted steamed buns, clenbuterol in pork and dirty cooking oil.

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Four officials in Shanghai have been punished for dereliction of duty in relation to the steamed buns scandal, local authorities said last week.

The scandal emerged after China Central Television (CCTV) reported on April 11 that steamed buns in Shanghai had been dyed or laced with coloring additives to mislead consumers.

Also last month, three children died and 36 others fell sick in northwest China's Gansu Province after drinking milk contaminated with nitrite.

The country's largest meat products processor, Shuanghui Group, was forced to apologize last month after clenbuterol was detected in some of its pork products.

Vice-Premier Li Keqiang recently warned of the great harm from illegal additives in food at a high-profile national meeting, promising a "firm attitude, iron-hand measures and more efforts" in dealing with the problem.

A high-profile nationwide fight against the illegal use of additives in food was launched in April to intensify supervision, upgrade safety limits, and greatly increase penalties for violators.

The State Council has detailed intensified measures to crack down on the illegal use of additives in food in a circular posted on its website, stressing that non-edible materials are banned from use in food.

Illicit drugs or any other materials that jeopardize human health are banned in the growing, cultivation, processing, and transportation of agricultural products, according to the circular.

China will publicize an upgraded national standard that offers guidance for the safe use of food additives by the end of 2011, it says.

Meanwhile, several central government departments in charge of regulating the food sector issued directives respectively last month.

The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) and the Ministry of Health, among other departments, urged tightened supervision on food additives and flavoring materials in food sold at restaurants and snack bars.

By the end of May, the country's catering firms should report information regarding the food additives used in their food to local authorities.

In addition, the names of these additives should be clearly posted in restaurants for customers to see, the SFDA said, after a few restaurants have reportedly added poppy shells or industrial wax to some of their flavorings.

The government also has publicized a regulation that sets limits on melamine levels in food products.

In 2008, milk products throughout the country were found to contain dangerous levels of melamine, which was intentionally added to make milk appear rich in protein. The toxic milk killed at least six babies and sickened 300,000 others across the country.

Although the problem has largely been resolved, stockpiles of left over melamine milk has been discovered well after the scandal erupted, and just last week the government seized more than 26,000 kilograms of melamine-contaminated milk powder in southwestern Chongqing Municipality.

Zhi Shuping, director of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, said "hidden rules" affecting food safety should be severely cracked down upon.