A SERIES of new regulations take effect today, covering various aspects including food safety at schools, application for exit-entry permits and production safety.

A new food safety regulation jointly issued by the Ministry of Education, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Health Commission take effect today to spot and address problems regarding school food safety in a timely manner.

According to the regulation, officials from kindergartens to secondary schools in China are to dine with their students at school canteens.

The regulation also aims to establish the work requirements for prevention, emergency response and coping with school food safety accidents.

Also, a new regulation to streamline the procedures for exit-entry permit applications for Chinese citizens becomes effective today.

According to the regulation issued by the National Immigration Administration, Chinese citizens on the mainland, regardless of where they were born or live, will be able to apply for passports and travel passes for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan at any immigration administration across the country.

Citizens are no longer required to return to their places of birth to apply for the aforementioned travel documents, said the administration.

A new regulation on China’s production safety emergency response come into effect today, which standardizes emergency response work systems, preparation and rescue.

According to the regulation, the State Council oversees national production safety emergency response work while local governments at the county level and above are responsible for rescue work in local incidents.

The regulation urges governments at county level and above and relevant production safety supervision authorities to formulate rescue plans for potential incidents and make them public. Production units should also make rescue plans.

(Xinhua)