(Yicai Global) Sept. 5 -- China's State Food and Drug Administration has banned promotional materials about food products from claiming they can prevent diseases and have healing affects.

Bi Jingquan, head of the Office of Food Safety of the State Council and the SFDA announced the decision yesterday.

Misleading marketing and advertising for food, especially health-food, products, has become a widespread phenomenon in China and provoked public outrage.

In a joint effort to crack down on ambiguous adverts, the SFDA, Office of Food Safety, Ministry of Commerce, State Administration for Industry and Commerce, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television have set up a working group to ratchet up supervision over food and health-food products, marketing firms and ad publishers.

All such products must be labeled with explicit instructions and labels must not contain misleading information. Any functions of health foods must be based on scientific findings and the content of promotional materials, including brochures, videos and lectures, should be consistent with the user instructions and product labels. No materials may contain information about disease prevention of healing powers, Bi said.

Offenders will be investigated for criminal liability and local governments and departments will also be held accountable.