Food safety watchdogs in northwest China's Shaanxi Province are using delivery persons to help spread information on food safety and supervise restaurants for possible hazards.

More than 100 delivery men were asked to distribute food safety handouts while delivering food to clients from Thursday.

Ren Yanbao, deputy chief of the provincial food and drug safety supervision bureau, said the delivery persons had wide access to customers and restaurants, making them effective for food safety work.

Ren said they would look out for poor sanitation conditions or other food safety problems, with inspection authorities rewarding them if their reports were verified.

Food delivery is burgeoning in China, with over 20 million daily orders taken by China's top three online food delivery companies.