An edict from the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) has required prosecutor's offices at all levels in the country to fulfill their obligations in handling food safety cases and be on the alert for official corruption related to such crimes, the Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.

Experts reached by the Global Times said the SPP's move is necessary to further root out officials' lax supervision that has been afflicting the country's food safety record.

"Regulations from the judicial body are needed, as these to some extent serve to keep an eye on those officials in this easily-affected industry," Zhang Yongjian, director of the research center for the development and regulation of the food and drug industry, affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

Apart from entrepreneurs' quest for profits from sub-quality food, official negligence and misconduct has been another major factor tarnishing the country's food industry, from the melamine-tainted milk powder in 2008 to the clenbusterol-tainted pork last year and to concerns over gutter oil.

"Some officials are easily bribed, as 50 yuan ($7.80) can buy those dirty businessmen a quarantine pass, like what we've seen in last year's pork scandal that spanned several municipalities and provinces," Zhang added.

The notice was the second, coming after the SPP issued a circular in June last year clarifying the urgency and importance of preventing official negligence in food quality supervision, but related terms aimed at preventing such misconduct has never been listed in the Criminal Law.

"The condition of attempted crime should be added, in a bid to regulate officials' behavior as well as help prevent food safety-related official crime," said rmlt.com.cn, an online forum under the People's Daily.

Concerning official corruption, the eighth amendment to the Criminal Law, effective May 2011, stipulates that officials will be jailed for up to 10 years for food safety scandals and other consequences caused by their negligence and misconduct.

"In terms of single food safety law, the country is doing a good job, while there are still overlaps and grey areas left by different legislation moves by different government agencies," Zhang Yongjian said. China enacted the Food Safety Law in 2009

"What we really need is a zero-tolerance policy toward food safety scandals and more powerful law enforcement," He Jiguo, a senior analyst for the China National Center for Food Safety Assessment, told the Global Times.