During a spot check by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), six different types of bottled water were discovered to contain elevated amounts of the chemical compound bromate, a byproduct of the water sterilization process which, in excess, could lead to cancer. Among the water producers that are feeding you cancer water are Harbin Pharmaceutical Group and Jingyou Honghu Mineral Products Co Ltd. According to stuff we've read, excessive consumption of bromate may result in symptoms such as "nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain" as well as other scary stuff. 18 other brands of bottled/barelled water failed to meet general quality standards, as AQSIQ found high levels of not only bacteria (something we've worried about before) but free chlorine and strontium as well. A total of 220 different bottled/barreled water from 211 companies in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei Province were tested during the spot check. more ›

Won't somebody think of the children?! A Shanghai Daily investigation has apparently revealed that some tableware sold at local stores and supermarkets - including things usually used to feed our poor, innocent babes - are made from a material that could call cancer. The name of the material is the appropriately gross sounding "urea resin." more ›

Shanghai Daily has released two rather disturbing updates concerning the health of the citizens (and netizens) of Shanghai. Remember how we heard about cancer-causing napkins in Beijing? It seems like we are now facing a similar threat in Shanghai. And if that's not enough, going to the internet cafe might give you tuberculosis! more ›

The factory is located in Songjiang District and is both a sanitary and olfactory disaster zone. Owing to its somewhat illegal status, its workers do most of their processing by night and are incredibly wary when trucks loaded with barrels full of dirty oil get transferred in. The kicker is that police can't really shut the operation down - there's no laws against them "storing" waste oil there and there's nowhere to put it if they are to remove it. more ›

The recent flurry of things in China that experts say cause cancer (cooking oil, food containers, paper napkins...) is enough to send us into cancerous pit-stewing panic, seeing that we're eating egg friend cancer off a cancer plate. But hark, lo, what is that? Chinese scientists have found something that may actually reverse a type of cancer, and that shining hope is in the form of... arsenic. more ›

The list of things that experts tell us cause cancer in China is growing forever longer and even more ridiculous. Last month’s killer: cooking oil. This month killer: the napkin! more ›

So not only is the cooking oil not safe, apparently your take out containers could end up causing cancer as well. Dong Jinshi, VP of the Hong Kong-based International Food Packaging Association, says that about half of disposable dishware in China is unsafe. Those who think you're safe by being in a city - it ain't so: 30% of disposable dishware here have carcinogens such as ceresin wax, which could cause cancer. I don't know if this news makes me never want to eat out again... or just resigned to the fact that, just by living here, I will undoubtedly contract cancer at some point in time. more ›

Looks like, just on the heels of the melamine taint, the next food scare could be in cooking oil: it seems that the State Food and Drug Administration is now stepping up inspections of all food service providers because one-tenth of Chinese cooking oil could be illegally made and cause cancer. The culprit is recycled kitchen or restaurant waste oil, which contains a highly toxic, carcinogenic substance called "aflatoxin" and at least some chefs have been so disgusted by the practice they've put their rants online (translated here if you want to be grossed out). Most of this oil is being sold in less-developed areas, so if you're on a trip out of Shanghai... beware. more ›

You know how at real Chinese restaurants all over town, the waiters always look at you funny when you ask for a glass of ice water because locals normally drink tea water about the temperature of the surface of the sun? Well you can laugh in their smug "Oh these foreigners and their addiction to cold drinks" faces - because now there's studies saying that hot tea, tea over the temperature of 70C, has been linked to oesophageal cancer! more ›