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That Corn Sold On The Street In China? It Is Drenched In Harmful Additives

Posted: 07/10/2014 4:53 pm

Whenever you’ve waited for the bus, you’ve likely caught a whiff of the sweet aroma of corn wafting towards you from a pot over at the the newspaper stand. The mystery lingers: how can something only prepared with boiling water look and smell so good?

After a Henan man got sick after eating three ears of corn in a row, a reporter from the Henan Economic Report went in search of the answer, and it’s not pleasant: streetside boiled corn is prepared with artificial sweeteners and additives.

The reporter said vendors readily confessed to using food additives to prepare boiled corn. Their enthusiasm to disclose the information was based on the fact they consider this an “open secret” that everyone already knows about. One vendor offered this immensely quotable sentence:

There are most definitely additives used in boiled corn.

Another vendor even gave the name of the food additive market that is popular among vendors. It turns out artificial sweeteners are available for purchase at 30 to 45 yuan each at the Wankelai Foodstuff market. One store owner says artificial sweeteners are big business, and that she sells four to five bottles a month:

What it mainly does is make it more fresh, and helps preserve it longer in which the longer it cooks, the more sweet it smells.

Another store manager said:

This is an additive that can increase sweetness. It is 50 times sweeter than white sugar. Many peddlers will buy this in cases of 25 or 50kg.

Li Chunqi, a botany professor at the Henan Agricultural University, says that using excessive amounts of this food additives or using them for a long period of time will harm human health. Furthermore, Li says it is against the law add sweeteners or additives to raw foods.

If you still have the urge to eat sweet corn in China, you can try and identify which corn has been coated in additives. Apparently “fake corn” will wrinkle when cool, and has a decidedly “gummy” texture. Of course, you could always buy corn at the supermarket and make it at home.

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People’s Daily Blames Jinan Restaurant Closures on Local Government

Posted: 07/5/2014 11:07 pm

jinan restaurant health check closed shandong national hygiene regulationA few days ago, The Nanfang brought you the curious story of hundreds of restaurants closing en masse in Jinan, Shandong province on the same day a national-level municipal health check was to be held in the city. We figured this would impact the faith Jinan folk have in their restaurants, and it turns out the People’s Daily Online agrees.

But there is a twist to the story. The restaurants, it turns out, probably didn’t close on their own volition. It was actually in response to a local government directive.

Here’s their commentary on the Jinan story:

‘Hygiene Initiative’ is a Farce
Against the City Hygiene Initiative, [the local government of] Jinan has ordered hundreds of restaurants to close. This has caused great inconvenience to city residents as well as attracting a lot of criticism. The Hygiene Initiative is an idea; however, the essence behind it is [as formless and insubstantial] as the art movement of Formalism. How can it bring about lasting reform to people’s perspectives on the environment? Through their governing, the new leaders of the current administration repeatedly emphasize not to reap [personal rewards] in the name of China nor to delight in false actions. Please tell us, corresponding Jinan departments: have these words gotten into your heads?

The People’s Daily Online stops short of directly accusing the government of ordering the closures, but treads awfully close. The conjecture  is that the Jinan local government wanted to save itself from any possible risk of losing face on a national level. By not allowing any of its hundreds of restaurants to be evaluated, no Jinan restaurant could suffer the humiliation of being rated below standard, a shame that will come back to haunt the local government.

jinan restaurant health check closed shandong national hygiene regulation

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Photos: the Nanfang

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Latest Food Safety Scandal: Chinese Potato Chips Can Give You Dementia

Posted: 07/4/2014 7:09 pm

Listen up: if you eat a specific brand of Chinese potato chips, it could lead to poor memory, reduced vision, poor movement coordination, and dementia, reports the Yangcheng Evening Report.

To cut costs, certain unscrupulous companies have resorted to using a type of leavening agent with dangerous amounts of aluminum to manufacture potato chips. The agent is three to four times cheaper than a regular (and safe) baking powder.

A notice on the official website for the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China announced the problem and suggested the public to purchase popular name brands instead of inferior brands.

However, this official institution does not say anything else. Even though it confirmed some potato chips are dangerous, it didn’t say which ones.  Caixin is one of the few media outlets that reported the Xiangchi brand as being contaminated with excess amounts of aluminum.

In the meantime, best to stick with Lays.

Photo: Nanguogo, 5888, dougou

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Dangerous Snail That Can Transmit Diseases With a Single Touch Invades Fujian

Posted: 07/4/2014 10:00 am

giant african snail fujian fuzhou invasion invasive animal danger public safetyFujian Province is the site of an insidious invasion, and people in Fuzhou are being warned. A headline in the Strait Capital Report says:

African Giant Snail Has “Invaded” Fuzhou, Can’t Be Touched or Eaten,
Will Transmit Diseases

giant african snail fujian fuzhou invasion invasive animal danger public safety

Watch out, Fuzhou: The African giant snail is an invasive species that has infiltrated China. The report says it can be harmful to humans and livestock. Most notably, the African giant snail is a host for parasites and pathogens and can transmit such deadly diseases as tuberculosis and meningitis.

Experts recommend to cook food the African giant snail may have touched at temperatures of 100 degrees Celsius. Just by crawling over the surface of fruit and vegetables, the African giant snail is able to transmit diseases by the trail it leaves behind.

giant african snail fujian

The Strait Capital Report says:

A snail as big as a fist has shockingly appeared on the streets of Fuzhou. Yesterday evening, city resident Miss Cao saw such a “giant snail” near Tongpan Road. Curious, Miss Cao took a picture, and then called 968111 to report it.

This isn’t the first time the dangerous snail has been found in China. Stories on the slithery mollusk were done in 2013, 2012 (this time over in Xiamen), 2010, and 2005.

But while residents have been warned, some of the snails are still being sold as food.


A market vendor was quoted admitting the public health menace is available at markets:

They’re selling very well. Many of them are sold in an afternoon. 5 yuan for half a kilogram. These snails are both cheap, and delicious.

As per the advice of the experts, we’re sure hope that these snails were cooked at temperatures over 100 degrees Celsius.

Photos: Strait Capital Report, qianlong, Sohu, fznews, xmnn, xinhuanet

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China Denies Killing US Pets with Tainted Dog Food

Posted: 07/3/2014 7:24 pm
dog food safety scandal chinese imports chicken jerky fda

An online warning to US pet owners issued at internetpetvet.com

China has categorically denied that Chinese-made dog food has killed hundreds of pets in the United States, reports the Beijing Morning Post.

Lu Chunming, the deputy head of the Bureau of Quality Inspection, said the US Food and Drug Administration has not fully investigated the issue, adding the US agency has criticized Chinese-made products without providing scientific proof.

Lu stated that all Chinese exported products must meet its production standards, and the quality control is even stricter for brand names exported to the US.

Lu made his comments in response to an FDA post on May 16. The FDA says that, up to now, it has received reports of some 4,800 cases of dog illnesses in the USA, of which 1,000 have died as a result. The FDA states all illnesses have to do with a consuming a specific type of chicken jerky that originates from China.

dog food safety scandal chinese imports chicken jerky fda

An online warning to US pet owners issued at internetpetvet.com

However, the FDA is leaving room for error, stating it was “not able to identify an exact cause-and-effect nature of that relationship” with the chicken jerky treats. The agency says it has been working with Chinese authorities and scientists to resolve the problem.

Dogs that have eaten the contaminated product will exhibit the following symptoms: decreased appetite, decreased activity, vomiting, diarrhea, sometimes with blood; increased water consumption and/or increased urination.

dog food safety scandal chinese imports chicken jerky fda

Lu contradicts the FDA’s findings, emphasizing that neither any complaints nor disputes have ever been brought up before, and that trade between the countries has developed smoothly.

All the same, US media reports warning against the dangers of Chinese imports have been published before. The FDA has been warning the US public about Chinese pet food since 2007.

Even though Lu is adamant about the high safety regulations of Chinese exported goods, Lu doesn’t have the confidence of Chinese pet owners who have taken to importing dog food from the USA to feed to their pets.

Photo: the internet pet vet, News Inferno

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Jinan Restaurants Snub Health Inspectors, Close En Masse Instead

Posted: 07/3/2014 11:45 am

jinan restaurant health check closed shandong national hygiene regulationLooking for a good restaurant in Jinan in Shandong Province? You may want to reconsider as hundreds of restaurants there have closed rather than submit to health inspections, reported the People’s Daily.

On July 1, a “secret” national hygiene municipal inspection was to be carried out in Jinan on a vast scale.  One-thousand volunteers wearing armbands conferring their official status were sent to inspect all of the city’s restaurants. When the eateries found out about the supposed “secret” inspection, they closed up shop.

READ: Guangzhou Restaurants Busted for Adding Addictive
Poppy Powder to Food

Many of these pictures were taken at around 4pm, just before the dinner rush, and yet there are hardly any people around. We wish we could tell you at least one restaurant defied the trend and stayed open, but the report doesn’t mention any.

Apparently, some restaurants have been ordered to take down their signs because they don’t meet health regulations, presumably due to the improper disposal of garbage that the volunteers were still able to inspect from outside the premises. The businesses are apparently waiting for the health inspection period to wrap up so they can re-open.

jinan restaurant health check closed shandong national hygiene regulationjinan restaurant health check closed shandong national hygiene regulationjinan restaurant health check closed shandong national hygiene regulation

READ: Poppy Opiate Used at Foshan Restaurant to Make Food “Tastier”

jinan restaurant health check closed shandong national hygiene regulationjinan restaurant health check closed shandong national hygiene regulationjinan restaurant health check closed shandong national hygiene regulation

READ: Merchant Processes Dried Bamboo Shoots in Toilet

jinan restaurant health check closed shandong national hygiene regulationjinan restaurant health check closed shandong national hygiene regulationjinan restaurant health check closed shandong national hygiene regulation

Here are some pictures of the volunteer health inspectors, seemingly left with little to do:

jinan restaurant health check closed shandong national hygiene regulationjinan restaurant health check closed shandong national hygiene regulation

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Photos: cnr.cn

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Bare Footed Workers Caught Stomping On Noodles Destined For The Dinner Table

Posted: 06/10/2014 6:16 pm

feet vermicelli dongguan factoryI’m no foodie, but I’m told texture is an important part to the experience of enjoying food. The way food feels in your mouth as you whimsically savor each bite that yields a tantalizing morsel.

But how food gets that certain je ne sais quoi might not be as tantalizing as the taste.

READ: 1/3 of Shenzhen Markets Selling Contaminated Noodles

A netizen called “Incapable of Seeing Straight” has posted pictures online of a Dongguan workshop during the process of making rice vermicelli noodles. The pictures depict many workers surrounded by a lot of vermicelli—so much vermicelli, in fact, that there is no room to put it. Except on the floor. Where the workers are standing. With their bare feet.

And we know that these workers are working hard because we see one of them. Sleeping. On the raw rice noodles/bed of springy noodles.dongguan feet vermicelli

On the afternoon of June 9, the Dongguan Office of Food Inspection investigated the case and identified the Daojiao Tongcheng Rice Product Factory of Daojiao County as being the place where the photos were taken. The pictures were determined to have been taken before Spring Festival 2014. The factory says all the workers in the photos are now gone.

RELATED: 40 Jailed in 3 Years For Food Safety Violations in Dongguan

As a result of the investigation, the Daojiao Tongcheng Rice Product Factory has been ordered to close down and to reassess its food production procedures, reports Yangcheng Evening Report.

And if you’re wondering if you may have eaten some of these so-called “stinky feet vermicelli noodles”, well, you may have. There are 15 Daojiao vermicelli factories in Guangdong Province that have a total daily production of 800-1,200 tons of vermicelli noodles.

Daojiao rice noodles make up 80% of all vermicelli sales in the Pearl River Delta.

We should add that barefoot workers are probably a step up from workers wearing shoes into the workroom, but just barely.

feet vermicelli dongguan factoryfeet vermicelli dongguan factorydongguan feet vermicellifeet vermicelli dongguan factoryRelated:

Photos: cfqn, Caixin via Weibo

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600 Tons of Fake Salt Sold in Guangzhou

Posted: 05/15/2014 8:00 am

As incredible as it sounds, you don’t need to take a grain of it with this news: Guangzhou residents may have consumed a total of 600 tons of inedible fake table salt from February until May of this year.

A report by China News on May 13 revealed the fake salt had been distributed at wholesaling markets in exchange for grains and cooking oil in the rural outskirts of Guangzhou.

A Guangzhou-based group had been producing and distributing the fake salt since February and had profited more than RMB 1 million (approximately USD $160 thousand) from the illegal trade. It’s unclear if the group had started the operation earlier than reported.

Most of the salt in question was non-iodized industrial salt, but the group packed it as iodized table salt under a brand name only revealed in the report as a single character, Yue (粤, meaning “Guangdong” or “Cantonese”).

Small consumption of iodine over a long period of time will increase the risks of contracting ailments such as thyroid nodule, a lump in the thyroid gland at the base of the neck, whereas the consumption of industrial salt, which contains excessive levels of metals, can cause more health problems.

A May 5 police raid on the fake salt production in Baiyun District led to the arrests of three suspects. At the time of the police operation, the racket was still busy processing the salt. The police confiscated more than six tons of salt, 12 bags of industrial salt and some machinery on the site.

Photos: Nandu 

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1/3 of Shenzhen Markets Selling Contaminated Noodles

Posted: 05/12/2014 5:37 pm

hoh funThrough unannounced inspections of the city’s markets, Shenzhen municipal health inspectors have discovered a full third of tested fresh noodles do not conform to health standards, the Nandu reported.

Of the 99 sellers of wet noodles and Hoh Fun (flat white noodles) inspected, 34 sellers broke regulation, mostly by adding food additives.

Six were found to have food additives including borax (four cases), formaldehyde (two cases); preservatives including benzoic acid (22 cases), dehydrogenated acid, and sorbic acid; food coloring was also found that included lemon yellow (9 cases), and sunset yellow. Three cases were found to have both additives of benzoic acid and lemon yellow.

The inspection covered 21 farmer’s markets located in Luohu, Futian, Nanshan, Bao’an, Longgang, Longhua New District, and Guangming New District, and was carried out from end of March to beginning of April of this year.

As well, the inspection was extended to city center supermarkets and restaurants. Focusing upon prepackaged noodles, the city health inspector found that out of a sample of 172 different sellers of noodles, 49 were found to contain illegal food additives such as benzoic acid.

The findings of the Shenzhen health inspectors have been transferred over to the local Public Security Bureau for policing.

Photo: 21cn

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Guangzhou Smokehouse Used Chemicals to Hide Rotten Pork

Posted: 05/8/2014 1:39 pm

A raid made by Guangzhou police yesterday upon an illegal smokehouse revealed an operation to prepare rotten pork with chemical additives for consumer consumption in very unhygienic conditions, reported Guangzhou Daily.

The concealed smokehouse was discovered in a filthy state with open sewage running through it. The operation to make smoked bacon involved marinating the rotten pork with additives to help give the meat an improved look and taste to make it more palatable to customers.

The additives involved in the process include dimethyl dichloro-vinyl phosphate (DDVP), sodium nitrate, industrial salt, and food coloring popularly called “Sunset Red” and “Sunset Yellow”.

Each of these additives have specific traits:

  • DDVP (Vapona) is commonly used as insecticide and to protect stored products from insects. It is not currently banned by the Environmental Protection Agency in the USA, but has been considered.
  • Sodium nitrite helps preserve meat, improves its taste and color, and slows down the process of deterioration.
  • The ingestion of Sunset Yellow has been linked to hypersensitive reactions and behavior problems.

Five people were taken into custody. Police confiscated 2000 kg of rotten pork, and 530 kg of bacon products.

The suspected leader of the operation had purchased the rancid pork from Sihui, Zhaoqing. He is said to also operate a barbecue shop in Guangdong province.

Photos: Guangzhou Daily

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