Filthy seafood infected with bacteria or tainted with drugs and antibiotics banned in the U.S. is finding its way onto the plates of Americans, according to state and federal officials, consumer advocates, academics and food safety experts.
Among the list of food safety scandals that have plagued China in recent years—toxic infant formula, pesticide-tainted vegetables, exploding watermelons, “lean meat powder” and pork reconstituted as beef—few are quite as stomach churning as the nauseatingly-named “gutter oil.”
BEIJING - Concerns have resurfaced in China over the safety of toothpastes containing triclosan, a chemical that may lead to cancer, after the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) started a new round of safety reviews.
A third or more of all the honey consumed in the U.S. is likely to have been smuggled in from China and may be tainted with illegal antibiotics and heavy metals. A Food Safety News investigation has documented that millions of pounds of honey banned as unsafe in dozens of countries are being imported and sold here in record quantities.
Around 2000 people have been arrested, and nearly 5000 businesses shut down, as Chinese authorities try to force their food industry to improve its safety standards.
The central government decreases the speed of trains, suspends new projects, subject to thorough study and further security measures. High speed travel was great pride of the Chinese government, but now the authorities continue silence on security and Wenzhou disaster.
(via Food safety concerns in China continue - The Washington Post)
A Chinese farmer shows off the exploded watermelons at a farm in Zhenjiang, east China’s Jiangsu province. A bizarre wave of exploding watermelons — possibly due to farmers’ abuse of a growth-boosting chemical — has once again spotlighted safety fears plaguing China’s poorly regulated food sector.
BEIJING — “Bodybuilder” pigs given illegal growth hormones in their feed. Harmful additives to make pork taste like beef. Outdated steamed buns painted with coloring to look new. Formaldehyde in a popular Sichuan dish. Exploding watermelons treated with plant growth chemicals.
China is offering money for food safety informers to come forward with information about companies that illegally use additives or sell meat from animals which die of disease. Fortunately, China isn’t just going to give cash to anyone that phones in a report because the food safety informers will only be paid if their claims can be proven after a thorough investigation.
BEIJING, June 12 (Bernama) — China’s food safety watchdog has banned eight food products produced by four local companies in Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Jiangmen which contain plasticiser.
