China has set up a national tracking network for unlicensed food suppliers, the South China Morning Post reported. Authorities will require all grocery and convenience stores and roadside stalls to keep records, including invoices from suppliers, so food products can be traced. State Administration for Industry and Commerce director Zhou Bohua said inspectors shut down 9,098 unlicensed food manufacturers and other vendors in the first seven months of the year. He said nearly US$30 million worth of fake, dangerous or shoddy products had been found since last June, and 187,000 food and product safety inspectors were checking businesses and markets. The tracking network is part of Beijing's attempt to regain consumer confidence in domestically made products following a summer of global recalls of China-made goods, most notably of toys by US firm Mattel.
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