Six arrested over food safety scandal in Shanghai

Six senior executives of scandal-saddled Shanghai Husi Food Co., Ltd. have been arrested, Shanghai's police chief said Sunday, while vowing zero tolerance to food safety crimes.

Speaking on a radio program, Bai Shaokang, vice mayor and head of the public security bureau of Shanghai, pledged harsh punishment for food and drug safety crimes.

"Food safety has a direct bearing on the interests and safety of every household," Bai said.

"We should have zero tolerance toward food and drug safety scandals," the official said. "They should be dealt in accordance with the law and severe punishment is needed to prevent such crimes from becoming rampant,"he said.

Police authorities should join in the investigations into food scandals from the very beginning, like the case in Shanghai Husi, so as to boost the effects of harsh crackdown, he said.

On July 20, a local TV station reported that Shanghai Husi had supplied products tainted with reprocessed expired meat to a string of fast food chains and restaurants across China. The food safety scandal has spread to Hong Kong and Japan.

KFC-parent Yum Brands Inc. has already announced a halt on purchases from OSI China, the parent company of Shanghai Husi.

OSI Group said on July 28 that it would investigate all of its units in China, and build an Asian quality control center in Shanghai.

It has stopped all operations at Shanghai Husi and will investigate current and former senior management. A new management team has been brought to China.