Note To Self: Don't Apply For Top FDA Job In China

(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

The developments are among the most dramatic steps Beijing has publicly taken to address domestic and international alarm over shoddy and unsafe Chinese goods — from pet food ingredients and toothpaste mixed with industrial chemicals to tainted antibiotics.

Food safety is a serious problem across the vast country, with China's Health Ministry reporting almost 34,000 food-related illnesses in 2005. Spoiled food accounted for the largest number, followed by poisonous plants or animals and use of agricultural chemicals.

According to the official magazine Outlook Weekly, a survey by the quality inspection administration found that a third of China's 450,000 food producers had no licenses, and 60 percent did not conduct safety tests or have the capability to do so.