A Chinese manufacturer has been faking the production date on its food to make it appear fresher than it really is, state media said Thursday, in the latest safety scare to hit China's food industry.

The Douqule Food Factory used chemicals to erase the production date from packaging before printing a new, later one, making stale foods appear fresh, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Authorities only discovered the scam after two female employees who burned their hands using paint thinner to change the date printed on the packaging sued the company for compensation, the report said.

"Many people -- from big enterprises to small vendors -- know very well that the shelf life of foods could be changed (that way)," a food packaging machine maker in Beijing told the agency.

China has suffered a series of food safety scandals in recent years, from toxic milk to dyed buns.

In May, the country's top court ordered that capital punishment be used for food safety crimes that result in deaths.

Last week, a Chinese court jailed seven people for between one and 10 years for selling pork producers an illegal fat-burning chemical that can cause illness in humans.

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