KEY POINTS:
Six Chinese, including two children, died from food poisoning after eating dumpling soup and two more remain seriously ill, local media report.
It is the latest example of food safety risks facing domestic consumers.
Four males and four females collapsed on Monday with severe cramps and vomiting after eating the soup for lunch in the central Chinese province of Hubei, the Changjiang Times reported.
Two died on the spot.
The dead included a 13-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy, the report said.
It said the poisoning occurred at a scrap collection business but did not given any details of the cause, which was being investigated.
China is in the middle of a nationwide campaign to improve food and product safety after a string of international scares that have tainted its export reputation.
But the government is also worried about lax safety endangering the country's own citizens. Reports of usually non-fatal food poisoning at school canteens and restaurants, especially in the countryside, are common.
