Last year there were reports that some suppliers to pharmaceutical firms used so-called gutteroil - reprocessed kitchen waste dredged from restaurant drains - to make antibiotics.
The government is nervous of the public's deep mistrust of its ability to supervise the food market (even officials admit that detecting gutteroil can be tricky).
The NPC is expected to set up a single food and drug agency following a spate of food safety scandals, including tainted milk and recycled gutteroil, sources tell Hong Kong's South China Morning Post.