There has been a huge increase in trials concerning food and medicine safety, but this indicates, at least in part, a more focused approach by legal authorities, a top legal official said.

"A surge has been observed in the number of cases that have been filed and heard in courts, at all levels, in the past two years," Miao Youshui, deputy director of the Second Criminal Tribunal under the Supreme People's Court, said at a news conference.

Courts across the country have seen 688 cases related to fake medicine in the first six months of this year, up nearly 70 percent on last year's total. The number of cases concerning fake medicine in 2011 rose by 275 percent on the 2010 figure, according to statistics provided by the court.