To do well the jobs that fall within their jurisdiction is what Premier Li Keqiang required of governments at all levels at Monday's State Council meeting. Ensuring that food is safe to eat is one of the most urgent and demanding jobs.

Li stressed that monitoring and inspection should be tightened and crackdowns be severe in line with the law to relieve residents of their worries about food safety. He said that both the central and local governments must pay sufficient attention to the problem, and, tight as finances might be, money must be spent on guaranteeing food safety.

The most recent incidents of fake mutton and poisoned ginger have again raised concerns about food safety. To make more money, some people have illegally passed off pork or duck meat or even rat meat as mutton. Some villagers have used banned chemicals on ginger in order to kill pests. However, the ginger grown in such conditions is harmful to humans.