Food safety, which is attracting more attention in the wake of bird flu and other diseases, may become a topic for discussion during China's annual sessions of lawmakers and political advisers.

　　Many have become critical of food safety since the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome that hit the country early last year.

　　After the bird flu was contained, some people are still worrying about the safety of poultry products despite reassurances from scientists that eating well-cooked chicken and eggs is safe.

　　Their worry may have a good basis.

　　A nationwide check of more than 2,000 foodstuffs last year indicated that only 82.1 percent were up to standards.

　　Those findings along with a number of food poisoning accidents in the past few years have irritated members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the top advisory body of the country.

　　In an interview with Xinhua, Zheng Jianhe, a committee member from Jiangsu Province, suggested prompt action be taken for implementing a market access system that keeps unqualified food enterprises from entering the market.

　　"Compulsory measures must be taken to implement the system and improve management in an all-round way," noted Zheng.

　　"This is the only way to better control the flow of food products from cropland or workshop to market."

　　Member Wang Qinping, who is also deputy director of the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, upbraided local leaders for blindly pursuing economic growth and permitting the operations of small firms producing substandard foodstuffs.

　　Of the 106,000 food companies on China's mainland, roughly 70 percent are family workshops each with less than 10 employees.

　　(Xinhua)