A Huangpu River tour boat company began paying for food safety insurance for six of its boats Tuesday as part of a government initiative to ensure provision of compensation for victims of food poisoning.

"The food safety authorities suggested we join their scheme, under which any diner suffering food poisoning as a result of eating on any of the six vessels will receive compensation directly from the insurance company," an administrator from Shanghai Pujiang Travel Co told the Global Times.

He added that there has been no reported case of food poisoning on the company's boats, and that the company prepares its own food.

"We bought the insurance because we are seeing a steady increase in customers. There are customers from home and abroad, and events include wedding banquets and birthday parties," the staff member said.

Diners falling ill as a result of eating food supplied by the company could receive up to 200,000 yuan ($32,679) compensation, according to a report by the Shanghai Morning Post.

The move is part of Shanghai Municipal Food Safety Committee's wider plan to encourage companies that serve food to buy insurance to cover diners who suffer food poisoning.

About 40 food companies in Songjiang district that distribute around 100,000 meals per day joined the insurance plan earlier this month.

A member of staff surnamed Zhong from the Songjiang branch of Shanghai Anxin Agricultural Insurance Co, which works with authorities in operating the plan, told the Global Times that only diners who fall sick will be compensated. If a food company is found to be using substandard food materials such as recycled cooking oil, diners will only be compensated if they fall ill as a result. In the event of death, a payment of up to 500,000 yuan can be made to the victim's family.

According to the Shanghai Morning Post, food authorities will expand the insurance scheme to cover baby milk powder makers, student lunch suppliers and company canteens.

For food suppliers deemed to be particularly high risk, joining the scheme will be mandatory.

"There is not yet a timetable for the introduction of compulsory insurance. A law needs to be established that sets out exactly which companies should be required to buy the insurance," Wang Fang, a press officer from Shanghai Anxin Agricultural Insurance, told the Global Times Tuesday.

She said there is a plan to include some restaurants in the insurance scheme, but that the large number of restaurants in the city means it is impossible for them to all be covered in the short term.

There were seven reported cases of food poisoning in the city last year affecting about 140 people according to the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration. The number of people affected was 28 percent lower than 2011.