Results tagged “foodsafety”

That the Cantonese will eat anything that has legs apart from tables is a time-tested truth. And they will travel loooong distances and search high and low for places where they can put weird things into their mouth. Of course it always helps if you've heard from someone who's heard from someone who's heard from someone else about the marvelous nutritious and alimentary effects of this weird stuff that you're about to eat.

Shanghai food safety officials are looking into beef products after shoppers complained that meat on sale at a local market had been injected with water to up its weight. The widespread practice of waterlogging beef helps sellers earn more money per actual product, but exposes the meat to contamination from spoilage, chemicals or industrial waste. Authorities have only confiscated about 5kg so far and strongly suspect there is much more of the suspect beef on the market. The majority of the beef came from suppliers in Jiashan. While China has been trying to improve its food safety standards, the vastly unregulated market is proving to be incredibly challenging to control. Source: International Herald Tribune

• Advisor: Financial crisis not to affect success of 2010 Shanghai Expo [Xinhua] "The global financial crisis will have only limited impacts on the Shanghai World Expo 2010, an official with the organizers said here Sunday. Wan Jifei, vice director of the Shanghai World Expo Executive Committee, pledged that the financial crisis would not affect the overall success of the Expo at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of China's political advisory body."
• The curious case of the disappearing TV drama [Danwei] "Looking at the headline numbers, 2008 was not a good year for TV drama producers in China. While TV drama production has grown by around 1,000 episodes annually every year since 2003, it actually dropped for the first time in five years in 2008."
• China's key sci-tech projects criticized for "retarded progress" [Xinhua] "China's major projects in its 15-year scientific and technological development program initiated in 2006 is progressing very slowly, a political advisor said here Sunday. The State Council, or Cabinet, approved the last major scientific and technological project late last year, he said. "It means we have spent one fifth of the time to start up the program." "

• Organized crime ramps up film piracy efforts [Hollywood Reporter] How much terrorism have you funded? "Organized crime is taking on a larger role in film piracy, according to a new report from the RAND Corp. being released Tuesday. And though it could point to only a handful of examples where the profits from piracy have been used to support terrorist activities, the report warns that the terrorist connection could increase in the future."
• China food security 'grim' [Reuters] "A new food-safety law, approved on Saturday in an accelerated process since the milk scandal came to light in September, attempts to fix a fragmentary regulatory system which officials blame for recurring problems."
• China hails “online democracy” as Wen goes live on the Web [China Media Project] "So why do China’s leaders continue to talk about Internet technology as though it is an exciting and viable new alternative to that old-fashioned democratic technology — the voting booth? Because, at risk of sounding like a broken record, the Internet is the perfect distraction. It is a far-reaching medium symbolic of change that party officials can use to push the perception that political change is happening in China and that leaders are more responsive to citizens."

• Morgan Stanley’s Chinese Land Scandal [NYTimes] "Last month, with property prices here and elsewhere in free fall, the bank dropped a bombshell: in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, it said it had fired an executive in its China real estate division after uncovering evidence that he might have violated the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bars American business people from bribing foreign officials."
• U.S. Pavilion at Shanghai Expo to break ground on schedule [Xinhua] "Despite fund raising problems, officials of the U.S. Pavilion for the Shanghai World Expo 2010 say they are confident they will break ground to build a national pavilion on schedule this April."
• Premier Wen urges journalists to write "true, accurate" stories [Xinhua] "Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Saturday urged journalists to write 'true and accurate' news stories because it is a fundamental principle and a lifeline for the media. Wen told a group of Xinhua News Agency staff that Xinhua should take the lead in doing so and carry on its tradition of reporting news accurately, effectively and timely."

• Construction starts on rail link [Shanghai Daily] "Construction on the 29.68-billion-yuan (US$4.34 billion) Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed railway started yesterday at Fengjing area in Shanghai. The project, which is expected to be completed before the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, will cut the journey between the two cities to 38 minutes from the current one hour or more and is part of a plan to cut travel time between any two cities in the Yangtze River Delta Region to within one hour."
• Has Western Fast Food Hit a Wall in China? [Mark's China Blog] "I can't say that I'm that surprised that Chinese people may move away from eating western fast food as much as they have been. First, western fast food joints in China aren't cheap. In America, when you eat the crap that fast food places serve up you at least don't have to spend much money. That can't be said for China."
• China: ‘Can I supersize my stimulus?’ [FT Alphaville] "Expectations are growing China could super-size its stimulus package when it votes on the budget next week, especially since the draft currently being considered already foresees a record-breaking fiscal deficit for the country in 2009 of some 950bn yuan (higher than previously expected)."

Inspectors testing cream cakes sold in bakeries around town for melamine did not find the kidney stone-causing agent but they did find high levels of bacteria present in the cakes, and no, they're not of the good kind. According to Shanghai Daily:

This warning may have come a little too late for some of you but the story needs to go out anyhow. The dog you see on the right, Addie, which belongs to Ryan McLaughlin (who also writes LostLaowai and CNet Asia's The Tech Dynasty) has just died from contact with aflatoxin-contaminated Optima dog food. Aflatoxicity leads to rapid liver failure and kills 80% of all dogs afflicted with it.

• 50 year old Shen Zhengjuan, director of the state-owned assets administration, or SASAC, jumped to her death from her apartment in Shanghai’s Huangpu District on the last day of 2008. Caijing Online speculates her suicide may have to do with the corruption scandal of former mayor Chen Liangyu. More here and here. (Update: The Huangpu District has issued a statement to state that Shen was not corrupt and was "a person of decency" and "an official who showed true conviction to her job.")
• Approximately 80% of college students in Shanghai are willing to lower salary expectations for their first jobs, with 2% saying they would even consider a job that paid a monthly salary of under RMB1,000.
• Intestinal washes are now becoming increasingly popular in Shanghai as a result of the all the recent food scandals. One hospital reports as many as 200 customers a month.

This video, taken by a deliveryman with his cellphone at KFC's Yuen Long Plaza (元朗广场) outlet in Hong Kong, has been sending shockwaves throughout the territory of late. He recently blew the whistle by telling Hong Kong gossip rag Next Magazine 《壹週刊》 that staff at this outlet would frequently stop kitchen operations, throw away all leftover food, and start cleaning up before the restaurant closes so they can go home on time. During this time, if a customer walks in, employees will pick up the food from the trash and serve it to customers -- and this is apparently all done with the consent of the restaurant manager so they can "avoid reheating the frying machine".

Finally some good news that will make anyone in China rest assured that the food on our table is safe. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) continues to be busy at work ensuring food safety for us all. After banning soy sauce and wasabi imported from three Japanese producers found to be tainted with toluene and ethyl acetate last month, AQSIQ has now withheld about 312 tonnes of Irish pork across the country, on global concerns that pork from Ireland contain potentially harmful levels of the cancer-causing agent dioxin. Even as many other countries are starting to ban Irish pork, this latest move by AQSIQ will hurt the Irish pork industry big time as China is a HUGE pork-consuming nation. Between September and now, China imported 2,047 tonnes of pork from Ireland.

Big week in food safety and health-related news. First the melamine eggs and the tainted soy sauce and wasabi, then the cholera outbreak in Hainan, and now this — 10 men have died in Singapore from complications resulting from the consumption of illegal China-made sex enhancement pills. The Straits Times reports:

ILLEGAL sex enhancement pills have killed six more men here in the past five months, bringing the drug's death toll to 10 this year.

Continue reading "10 men in Singapore die from illegal China-made sex pills"

While others have been wondering what the Chinese FDA's been up to, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has been busy at work — conducting vigilant checks on food imported from overseas to ensure food quality for China's 1.3 billion people. They've just announced that soy sauce and wasabi imported from three Japanese producers have been found to be tainted with toluene and ethyl acetate. So, relax guys! China is not the only one with food safety problems. Developed nations such as Japan regularly poison their own people too.

Since Hong Kong's recent melamine findings in China-produced SELECT eggs, melamine has been found in several other Chinese egg brands. Many questions are now being raised in the Chinese media as to just what's the China FDA's been up to. We overheard on the radio the other day someone asking why food safety problems have always first been identified outside mainland China, and why the Chinese food authority always seems to be caught 'sleeping'.

• Take note, all you kinky bastards out there. Novelty chocolate body spreads manufactured in Zhongshan, Guangdong and sold in sex shops across Britain have been found to contain melamine. In New Zealand, chocolate body pens and spreads have also been taken off the shelves. Edible toys from your local sex store are not a good idea. Make a trip to the organic food store instead.
• In Korea, melamine has been found in processed egg products from China such as duck’s yolk powder, egg power, albumen power and yolk liquid. Authorities have ordered the immediate destruction of 23.2 tons currently held by importers.
• 2 more made-in-China biscuit products manufactured under the Korean brand Lotte have been found to contain melamine in the Philippines.

On Sept 26, in Tianjin at the World Economic Forum, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson drank a glass of milk (click to see video) in front of the media to show his support for the Chinese dairy industry and said:

The Europeans will continue to expect the highest standards, just as Chinese consumers are demanding the same…. But in the meantime I shall continue drinking my own favorite, er, milk, er, product, er, er, which I enjoy and which does not make me nervous.

Wen said he was very moved when he saw in television European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson drinking a cup of Chinese milk on Friday to show his trust in China-made products. “It's because he not only sees the present, but the future as well,” Wen said.

"Over the past few days, Peter Mandelson has been experiencing some kidney pain," a spokesman said.

Continue reading "EU Trade Commissioner UK Business Secretary Peter Mandelson drinks Chinese milk, then gets diagnosed with kidney stone 9 days later"

"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said India and China are working on the details of a framework agreement to help resolve the complicated boundary issue between the two countries."

More and more international and Chinese brands are getting embroiled in the tainted milk scandal. Latest news from the Straits Times:

SOUTH Korea's food watchdog said on Tuesday that two more snacks imported from China were contaminated with the toxic chemical melamine, bringing the number of tainted brands discovered locally to six.

Continue reading "Ritz and Lipton also hit by the melamine crisis"

AP: Cadbury has recalled 11 types of China-made candy in Hong Kong although it has not been confirmed that melamine has been found in those products. Supermarkets have also been pulling Oreo's, M&M's and Snickers off the shelves after Indonesia found traces of melamine in those products. Will these products be taken down in China next? (Update: Cadbury is pulling its chocolates off shelves on the mainland now)

"Carrefour SA, Europe's biggest retailer, said its dairy sales in China fell by 50 percent after government tests showed chemical tainting of milk products. "

From Reuters:

UP TO five per cent of infants in Shanghai could have kidney stones after drinking tainted milk formula, media reported on Friday, as publicity surrounding the scandal was muted by China's manned space launch.

Continue reading "Up to 5% of Shanghai infants could have kidney stones"

Reuters reports that the use of melamine is "rampant among farmers and feed-ingredient manufacturers". The words of Sun Erwu,a feedmill owner in Hebei province, which is at the centre of the milk powder scandal, are enough to send tingles down our spine, and raise questions over what is happening to the entire food chain in China:

"It is like a chain... If cows are fed with poor feed and produce lower-protein milk, dairy plants will not accept the milk, so many add melamine," Sun told Reuters on the sidelines of a grains conference.

Continue reading "Use of melamine rampant in the Chinese feed industry"

Looks like our earlier warning to not eat or drink anything with dairy content for the time being bears repeating. Singapore has now found traces of melamine in White Rabbit candies, wildly popular throughout Asia. The Straits Times reports:

Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said samples of White Rabbit-brand Creamy Candy imported from China were contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical that can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure.

Continue reading "Singapore finds melamine in White Rabbit candies; Chinese dairy products now banned across Asia and Africa"

Okay, stop drinking milk now, all of you, or anything that has any form of dairy content in it — unless it comes from some foreign brand. While four babies have already died from Sanlu's tainted milk powder, and over 6,000 remain sick (including over 150 critically ill), the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has now announced that liquid milk sold by three top Chinese producers has also been found to be tainted with melamine. From AP:

A report posted on the agency's Web site said test results show nearly 10 per cent of samples taken from Mengniu Dairy Group and Yili Industrial Group - China's two largest dairy companies - contained up to 8.4 milligrammes of melamine per kilogramme.

Continue reading "Crisis hits the liquid milk industry — Starbucks China stops working with Mengniu; All Yili products now recalled in Hong Kong"

Photo from Chad Ingraham: Has the Shanghai real estate market reached its peak?

A senior official, Wu Jianping, from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) threw himself off a building on the 2nd of August after being questioned on allegations of corruption.