Informants to get more cash rewards over food, drugs scandals

Chinese authorities announced Tuesday a raise in cash rewards for whistleblowers who report on food safety, drugs, cosmetics, health products, and medical equipment.

The China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) and the Ministry of Finance stated that a single tip-off will be rewarded with up to 500,000 yuan (about 75,000 U.S. dollars) instead of the previous limit of 300,000 yuan.

The regulation also states that informants who are insiders in the product’s development, manufacture, sales or applications could be rewarded with extra cash on top of the new limit.

It also states clearly that the identities of informants should be strictly protected. Anonymous reporters will get a code from food and drug supervisors as a way to claim rewards.

Food safety, long a headache for Chinese customers, poses a severe challenge for quality watchdogs due to the vast amount of food on sale and the limited number of supervisory staff.