SHANGHAI, Sept. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- Officials with the World Health Organization (WHO) and health ministers of the Western Pacific region agreed to work harder to improve food safety in the region.

Diseases such as SARS and avian flu, which are transferred from animals to humans, food terrorism, pesticide abuse, industrial pollution and foodborne illnesses are threatening food safety in Asia, said Shigeru Omi, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific at the ongoing 55th session of the regional committee in Shanghai.

"Without a comprehensive and integrated approach along the entire food chain, food will be left unprotected and human health will be placed at risk. Countries must improve their capacity to respond to emergencies posed by natural, accidental and intentional contamination of food," said Omi.

He urged the member states to target prevention throughout all stages of food production and sales. He said Asian countries must cooperate and share information in order to reduce the risk of foodborne diseases.

China has taken effective measures to secure food safety.

Spot checks showed the food quality had been improving, said Chen Yue, official with the department of health inspection under the Ministry of Health of China. According to the 1992 figures from the ministry, only 61.5 percent of food checked was qualified. But by 2003, the figure was 90 percent.

The ministry has enforced more than 90 regulations and 500 criteria in line with the Law of Food Health passed in 1995. Meanwhile, the government has been improving food contamination monitoring network which has covered 15 provinces and regions of over 70 percent of population nationwide, according to Chen.

However, China's food safety is facing many problems, such as illegal use of food additives and raw materials, illegal production and processing, food poisoning and environmental pollution, said Chen.

"Food safety is crucial to a country's economic development and international image. It is the governments' responsibility to reduce food contamination and foodborne illnesses and secure the health of the people," he said.