BEIJING, Sept 6 (Reuters) - China, shaken by food health scares at home and abroad, has launched a crackdown on bogus alcoholic drinks in the latest bid to reassure consumers about product safety.

A series of scandals involving sub-standard Chinese exports ranging from pet food, fish and toothpaste to toys has heaped pressure on Beijing to clean up its manufacturing sector.

Fake beer, wine and spirits are rife in China, often served cheaply at city bars from bottles carrying brand labels.

Inspectors in several eastern provinces raided 144 distilleries or breweries in four cities, seizing "possibly unsafe" alcohol and tonnes of raw materials, the China Daily said on Thursday.

It said 23 of the producers, concentrated in cities on the fringe of provincial borders, were unlicensed.

The paper quoted Yang Fengmin, a law enforcement director of China's quality watchdog, the General Administration of Quality, Inspection and Quarantine, as saying that alcohol had been targeted due to its popularity.

"More importantly, its quality directly affects the safety of the public," Yang said.

The crackdown was the "first of many" safety inspections to be launched after the State Council -- China's cabinet -- declared war against poor product quality last month, the paper said.

Officials from seven government departments, including the Ministry of Public Security and Commerce Ministry, had also fanned out across the country to see how a crack-down on unsafe farm products is going, the Agricultural Ministry added. (Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard)

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