China's Ministry of Agriculture has sent 400 pesticide residue detectors to the quake zone to ensure the safety of agricultural products there, said a ministry official on Sunday.

The detectors were delivered to 21 hardest stricken counties in Sichuan Province including Wenchuan, Qingchuan and Beichuan, and some quake-hit villages and towns in Gansu and Shaanxi provinces.

The official said the detectors would help intensify testing of pesticide residue in products from local agricultural production bases, wholesale markets, relief material distributing centers and temporary settlement zones for quake survivors.

Also in an effort to ensure the health of survivors and prevent any outbreak of disease following last month's deadly quake, the country's health authorities have vowed to push ahead measures to deal with water and food safety, proper hygiene at shelters and the disposal of dead bodies and garbage.

More than 16,000 epidemic control experts are working on the ground to guard against major epidemic outbreaks. So far, there has been no evidence of contagious diseases among the 5 million homeless in the quake zone, according to the health ministry.

The State Council, China's Cabinet, passed a draft regulation on post-quake restoration and reconstruction at an executive meeting last Wednesday.

Premier Wen Jiabao hosted the meeting, pointing out it was necessary to guide restoration and reconstruction work into a legal orbit. The Cabinet meeting also made research into and arranged agricultural production work for this coming summer.

The 8.0-magnitude earthquake centered in Sichuan's Wenchuan County had claimed 69,136 lives nationwide as of Sunday noon, while 374,061 were injured and 17,686 were missing.

(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2008)