Local residents can get up to 300,000 yuan (US$46,050) for tipping off wrongdoings related to food safety, according to a new reward mechanism launched this month.

The Shanghai Food and Drug Administration increased the maximum possible reward — 200,000 yuan since the mechanism was established in 2011 — by 100,000 yuan to encourage more whistleblowers to expose violations that hamper food safety, including using expired raw materials, illegally processing kitchen waste, and faking best-before dates.

Once confirmed, the whistleblower receives a reward of at least 200 yuan. But they must leave their name and contact details if they want to get it.

Last year, the administration handled 995 cases in which whistleblowers, who called its 12331 hotline, were rewarded with a total of 843,000 yuan, up 13 percent from 2014.