Shanghai will this week launch new measures to deal with food poisoning outbreaks, watchdogs have said.

The measures would deal with urgent food safety issues, the Shanghai Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision said on Wednesday.

Outbreaks will be divided into five levels according to seriousness.

The most serious cases are "cases affecting most regions of the country; transnational or trans-boundary (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan)," according to the measures.

At the bottom of the scale are outbreaks involving 10 to 29 people but causing no deaths, outbreaks affecting a county or a district of the city, and outbreaks with hidden dangers to people's health.

The measures range from sealing up contaminated food to ordering manufacturers to recall questioned food in the market.

The city's food safety authorities will also give consumers warnings if necessary, the measures state.

Last month, several supermarkets offered customers refunds on eggs after officials warned they may cause cancer.

Food and drug regulators in other provinces banned some brands of duck and chicken eggs after finding traces of a potentially carcinogenic dye in the produce.

(Source: www.shanghai.gov.cn )