Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai

A two-month-long competition promoting food safety in Xiangzhou came to a close on Aug 15, with the selection of 16 winners.

Initiated by Xiangzhou District food and drug administration, the event encouraged local residents to take photos of food safety grade notifications displayed in restaurants and upload them to the administration’s official WeChat account.

Selected at random, the winners received an assortment of prizes from mobile phones to smart watches.

As of Aug 15, Xiangzhou District has a total of 5,750 restaurants, 2,345 of them being registered with online food ordering and delivery services platforms, accounting for 40 percent of the total.

Local residents join government officials to visit the food safety demonstration street at Yuhai International Financial Center, Xiangzhou District. [Photo/zhxz.gov.cn]

The food safety of the online catering sector has become a key factor determining the level of Xiangzhou District's food safety environment and safety grade.

"Presently, the local supervision department has carried out spot checks on 41.9 percent of online catering providers," an official at Xiangzhou District food and drug administration said, adding that the government will perfect the supervision system using multiple measures to ensure food safety.

To promote a regulated development of online food ordering and delivery services, the local food and drug administration also organized training sessions for food quality controllers from the three most popular online platforms -- Meituan Waimai, Baidu Waimai, and Ele.me, on Aug 9.