BEIJING -- Chinese prosecutors have launched investigations on 57 government staff involved in food safety cases this year, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said on Monday.

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Among the suspects, 18 people allegedly took bribes in 17 cases and the other 39 people were investigated for dereliction of duty, said Qiu Xueqiang, deputy procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, at a press conference.

The supreme procuratorate has focused on cracking down on food safety crimes and related crimes by government staff in recent years, Qiu said.

Procuratorates nationwide have approved the arrest of 220 people for producing and selling substandard and poisonous food between September last year and April this year, he added. They have also initiated public prosecution against 113 people in 65 cases during the period.

Investigations by procuratorates were mainly against government staff abusing power or neglecting duty to issue licenses for unqualified enterprises and those who accepted or demanded bribes.