A nationwide overhaul of the sale and production of rat poisons will be launched later this year to reduce food poisoning cases.

Vice-Premier Wu Yi, director of the National Headquarters on Market Order Regulation, made the announcement during Friday's nationally televised meeting on Food and Drug Safety.

As part of the campaign, authorities will target a highly toxic rat poison called Dushuqiang.

Dushuqiang has been banned from sale in China since the mid-1990s but remains widely available from illegal producers in rural areas.

Food poisoning killed 89 people and sickened 3,643 in China in the first half of this year, according to Ministry of Health statistics.

Of the 116 food poisoning cases reported to the ministry, 42 involved chemical products such as pesticides or rat poison. In most cases, they contaminated foodstuffs or food storage areas due to carelessness and human error.

But in some cases, food was deliberately poisoned, killing a total of 52 people and making 977 ill.

Wu said a food and drug safety project is under way to safeguard the quality of food and medicines which form part of people's daily lives.

A healthy food and drug sector is also important in promoting the nation's image and international trade, she said.

Local governments at all levels should investigate food poisoning and contamination cases, and report and share information on these cases, more efficiently in future.

Food and drug safety supervision departments are also urged to tighten quality standards and supervision methods, making sure the production, processing, distribution and sales of food and drugs are managed properly.

Food safety in restaurants, construction sites and school canteens are top priorities, Wu said.

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