The reform of the country's food safety monitoring system must continue this year and supervision in the sector will be tightened, Health Minister Chen Zhu has said.

The changes and improvements "must be carried forward step by step", Chen said at a national conference on food and drug safety on Tuesday, a statement on the ministry's website showed yesterday.

During the transformation of government functions and re-allocation of resources in the sector, more attention should be paid to food safety for consumers, as well as the quality of health products and cosmetics, Chen said.