BEIJING - Courts in China have heard 61 cases involving food safety violations and convicted 106 criminals over the past eight months, according to a statement issued by the Supreme People's Court (SPC) on Friday.

These cases involve the production and sale of poisonous or harmful foodstuff, as well the production and sale of food that fail to meet hygienic standards.

Additionally, sentence terms for the convicts, which were handed down during the period from September last year to April this year, were all without chance of reprieve, the statement said.

The statement also noted metering out harsh punishments to officials found to have been involved in food safety violations.