Shanghai's product quality watchdog has given more than 70 organic product makers approval to start using a new label this month that aims to help buyers distinguish true organic products from the phonies, local officials announced at a press conference Thursday.

The new labels carry a unique code that consumers can type into a government website to determine whether the product meets government standards for organic goods.

"Only products that were manufactured before July 1 are allowed to have the old labels now. Organic products made since have to carry the new label to get on the shelves," said an official surnamed Li from the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision.

The system used to certify organic products has had its share of problems in Shanghai and across China.

The Yangtse Evening Post uncovered a printing company in Shanghai last year that sold customized organic product labels that unethical companies could attach to phony organic products. Another printer in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, sold similar labels for 0.03 yuan ($0.0047) each.

Apart from the fake labels, there are also problems with the companies that certify organic products.

Officially approved organic products have two labels. One is a general logo, and the other is issued by one of about 25 companies, many of which are private corporations.

One such company in Shandong Province promised clients a 100 percent success rate at getting their products certified as organic if they paid an 18,000 yuan fee, according to a report in the Southeast Morning Post last year.

Authorities hope the new label can curb these problems. They allow consumers to check information about a product's maker, its certifying body and other information online.

The authorities urged certifying bodies to more thoroughly supervise organic product makers.