China steps up food inspections ahead of Spring FestivalChina announced Monday it was stepping up food inspections ahead of the Spring Festival holiday in a bid to prevent safety scares following the nation's tainted taintv. taint·ed, taint·ing, taints v.tr. 1. To affect with or as if with a disease. 2. To affect with decay or putrefaction; spoil. See Synonyms at contaminate. 3. milk scandal. "Every locality... must increase supervision and inspection of markets important for the holiday, and important food companies and restaurants," Mao Qun'an, a spokesman for the Health Ministry, told reporters. Mao said firms and individuals that violated the law would be strictly dealt with. The news came as China prepared to celebrate Spring Festival -- or Chinese New Year Chinese New Year (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: Chūnjié), or Spring Festival -- for a week starting from January 26. China's milk scandal came to light in September when the industrial chemical melamine melamine (mĕl`əmēn'), common name for 2,4,6-triamino-1,3,5-triazine. Melamine is a trimer (see polymer) of cyanamide, H2NC≡N, and is synthesized from calcium carbide. was found to have been mixed into milk, leading to the death of at least six children and sickening nearly 300,000 others. In all, 22 companies in China were found to have sold contaminated contaminated, v 1. made radioactive by the addition of small quantities of radioactive material. 2. made contaminated by adding infective or radiographic materials. 3. an infective surface or object. milk, and 21 people have so far stood trial over the safety scare. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Mao, inspection groups consisting of officials at seven organisations including the Agriculture Ministry and the food safety watchdog had been dispatched to seven provinces in China. These had been tasked with checking on the progress made by companies and local governments in ensuring the safety of food products. 
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