China's CCTV reported Monday that the law was the first of its kind for the nation.
The draft law aims to identify and track products that include food items and cosmetics and provides penalties, including stiff prison terms, for manufacturers of sub-standard food, according to reports.
Proposed changes come after global concern over the safety of Chinese food products after tainted food ingredients in pet food killed and sickened dogs in America, and tainted toothpaste killed or sickened people in several countries and tainted dumplings killed or sickened many in Japan.
The proposed new food safety law was published Sunday on the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China. In a departure from the government secrecy of the past, lawmakers will now post all proposed new laws on the website so the public can comment, according to a statement on the website.
Under the proposed law, penalties for producers of substandard food products begin with fines, and can include confiscating incomes and revoking certificates for products, along with prison sentences ranging from three years to life in serious cases, according to a statement on the website.
The law includes provisions for evaluating and monitoring food safety, along with procedures for food recall and information release, Xinhua reports.
But even before it can become law, the draft legislation is already drawing criticism.
Food companies - including Nestle, Mars and Coca-Cola - say that the new system will raise production costs but that the small firms mostly responsible for substandard products are not likely to be caught by the law, the Guardian reports. In the meantime, the China National Food Association has also criticized the proposed law, also saying it will raise production costs at a time when rising food prices are adding to inflation.
