China to improve population's nutrition

BEIJING - China's central government on Monday issued a guideline to develop the nation's food industry, vowing to establish systems to improve people's nutritional intake.

In a notice issued on the government's official website, the government said it will establish systems to guarantee supply of quality food, and a system guiding people to improve their nutrition.

The guideline said that although the production capacity of food has been strengthened and people's diet and health has improved, China's food production cannot meet demand for nutrition.

The government vowed to establish mechanisms to monitor people's diets, strengthen supervision and information analysis, and intervene in areas or among groups where people are suffering from bad nutrition.

Lack of micronutrients and an excess of fat should be addressed, the guideline urged.

It set goals for the food industry and nutritional health, saying that by 2020, China's annual grain output will be maintained at 550 million tons or above, the food industry's annual growth rate of added value will stay at 10 percent or above, and the annual grain consumption per capita will be 135 kg.

The average daily energy intake of people should be between 2,200 to 2,300 kilocalories, with at least 50 percent of energy provided by grain, and energy provided by fat comprising no more than 30 percent, the guideline added.

It also called for publicity about nutrition and health, and strengthened guidance for the people.