BEIJING - China will crack down on illegal activities related to health food amid efforts to combat severe food scandals, the country's food and drug watchdog said on Thursday.

The China Food and Drug Administration will run a nationwide campaign between May and September against illegal production, sales and promotion of health food. Claiming that common food can help healthcare will also be punished, the administration's spokeswoman Yan Jiangying told a press conference.

This will be the first campaign since the newly formed administration began operating in March. It integrated the monitoring functions of several government organs and became a ministerial-level agency to improve food and drug safety.