"Every locality... must increase supervision and inspection of markets important for the holiday, and important food companies and restaurants," Mao Qun'an, a spokesman for the Health Ministry, told reporters.

Mao said firms and individuals that violated the law would be strictly dealt with.

The news came as China prepared to celebrate Spring Festival -- or Chinese New Year -- for a week starting from January 26.

China's milk scandal came to light in September when the industrial chemical melamine was found to have been mixed into milk, leading to the death of at least six children and sickening nearly 300,000 others.

In all, 22 companies in China were found to have sold contaminated milk, and 21 people have so far stood trial over the safety scare.

According to Mao, inspection groups consisting of officials at seven organisations including the Agriculture Ministry and the food safety watchdog had been dispatched to seven provinces in China.

These had been tasked with checking on the progress made by companies and local governments in ensuring the safety of food products.

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