Beginning March 15, Chinese consumers will have support from the courts in their efforts to sue manufacturers and retailers of unsafe food and pharmaceuticals, according to the South China Morning Post.
The ruling, announced last week, encourages members of the public to take legal action against those who make or market harmful food, drugs, cosmetics or dietary supplements.
Fraudulent and unsafe food has become a growing concern in China in recent years, with the country seeing a number of high-profile food scandals.
The guidelines issued by the Supreme People's Court state that consumers could sue both the manufacturers and the retailers of substandard products for 10 times the price paid.
Recent Chinese food safety headlines include a 2008?scandal?involving milk and infant formula tainted with melamine that sickened an estimated 300,000 people, including 54,000 hospitalized babies.
And, earlier this month, the Chinese branch of Wal-Mart recalled a donkey meat product for containing fox DNA.
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