Bi Kexin (pictured),?deputy director of food import and export department at the State General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), speaks during a press conference. [Photo provided to China Daily]

As the country's love for imported food grows, new regulations are being introduced to ensure food safety.

"Consuming imported food is the 'new normal' for Chinese," says Bi Kexin, deputy director of the food import and export department at the State General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

"It's an important source of our food now, and needs to be better monitored," Bi said at a forum on food security in Beijing on Thursday.

AQSIQ is to put out an all-rounded system to manage imported food, promising rigorous standards in the entire import and distribution process, according to Bi.

In the first half of 2015, China inspected more than 20 million tons of imported food from 179 countries. It found 4,960 tons did not meet the required standards.

"We are under lots of pressure as the volume of imported food continues to grow," Bi says. "But we have made sure that no major accidents take place."

Food safety has improved in the country in the last two years, according to statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics.

"It means our food industry has a better image now," says Jiang Qing, an official from the bureau. "We have more transparency and security now."

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