IN THE SPECIAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST ILLICIT food additives, the authorities have investigated more than 18,000 cases and outlawed or closed down over 5,000 businesses, sources within the State Council Food Safety Committee say.

The numbers are impressive for a five-month period sufficient for labeling the crackdown a success by any criteria.

As regular consumers who are constantly concerned about alarming discoveries in our nation's food, we must be grateful for such an achievement. After all, our collective safety surely improves with 5,000 fewer firms adding illegal contents to our food.