Chinese Food Safety

Food safety has long been a hot issue all around the world. After all, food is the source of the nutrients and energy that we are in great need of. Illnesses that are caused by our daily eaten food can be fatal and in large scale. As a result, it can easily and immediately become a hot topic and cause great panic among people who have been consuming and relying on the food.

No one can ever deny that food safety has been the top ten topics discussed by scholars, critics, politicians, and common people. Food safety crisis in China first begins when the “Sudan Red I” incident broke out in 2005. Many well-known food products, including KFC, are found to contain Sudan Red I, an industrially used chemical that can lead to cancer. Since then, Chinese people find themselves getting more and more used to alarming food safety scandals. Soon, a significant number of incidents draw the attention of Chinese people and people from all around the world. The incidents below are among the large number of scandals which destroy the faith Chinese food consumers hold on the products.

2008
Several domestic milk manufacturers are involved in a high-profile melamine contamination scandal. Thousands of babies and infants nationwide are affected
• Man-made jujube appears in the Urumqi market, infused with soluble saccharin and sodium cyclamate liquid in order to make them taste better
2007
• Big White Rabbit toffee, a famous Chinese candy brand, is found to contain formaldehyde and other deleterious substances in the Philippines
• Longfeng and Sinian, two famous frozen food companies, are found to have made products that contain pathogenic bacteria
2006
• In Beijing, 70 people who ate snails are confirmed to be affected with thelaziasis
• In Wuhan, Hubei, man-made honey syrup is found to have been injected with many kinds of chemicals such as thickening agents, sweetening agents, antiseptics etc.
• A batch of pork from Zhejiang poisons 336 people in Shanghai due to high amounts of thin carnosine
• In Yangjiang, all Jiudu fish samples from 7 big agricultural markets are found to contain the antiseptic formaldehyde at ten times higher than the permitted level
• Some red yolk salty duck eggs produced by a Hebei plant is found to contain tonyred, which improves the color of the food
The source of the timetable above is from The China Sourcing Blog http://www.chinasourcingblog.org
The skepticism laid upon Chinese food safety reached its peak when the majority of Chinese milk companies were accused of producing tainted dairy products which deprived thousands of children and infants of their lives and health. Though the leader of Sanlu Dairy Product Company has been punished and sentenced to death, people no longer believe in Chinese produced food.
Many people wonder why so many food safety crises have arisen during the past five years in China. As far as I am concerned, these problems are not merely caused by isolated reasons such as negligence. Instead, they are closely related to a series of cultural, political and economic factors.
To begin with, the key to the unsafe food problem is that the manufacturers are not responsible. Responsibility is in great demand in our food production process. It should be treasured as seriously as profit is. When we take a look at the life of our ancestors, we’ll clearly realize how lack of responsibility leads to deaths, problems and social panic. In ancient times, many products are handmade. People make them, including food, clothes, shoes, etc. for individual use. For example, the baskets are used and produced by the same person. That’s why the baskets are of so good quality that it can even hold boiling water. What’s more, the Eskimo skin boats are built to carry the family members and relatives of the producers. That’s why they scarcely are confronted with accidents and could survive storms. In other words, since the producers are responsible and care about the consumers and users of the products, the products are reliable. However, food producers in China are irresponsible. What they think about is their money and profits. Such consideration as the health of their customers is none of their business. Some even try to induce more people to buy their tainted food while making their family away from the food. No one realizes that the life of other people is as precious as ours and it’s the basic quality of a manufacturer to be responsible.
What’s more, China’s lagging legal system regarding food safety also contributes to the problem. China’s economic miracle during the past years has been the pride of Chinese people. At the same time, the development of its legal system cannot keep up with the incredibly rapid development of its economy. The legal framework is still being modified and the limited laws and regulations cannot cover all situations nowadays. As a result, many food companies begin to make use of the gap and unsafe food are produced without being known or noticed. Luckily, China’s top legislature has noticed the problem and is approving new food safety laws. On June 1, 2009, China Food Safety Law which aimed at enhancing monitoring and supervision was approved. This is a start and I hope the government can further effective measures.
Last but not the least, the severe competition among the food producing companies forces them to violate the laws. You can hardly imagine the severe competition among the companies. In China, the number of food production companies is increasing at a rapid speed. At the same time, few famous brands really stand out except the foreign ones such as KFC, McDonalds, Coca Cola, etc. A lot of small or middle sized companies spring out and they imitate the production mode of large companies. Every company has to try their best to make their products more attractive, more delicious. At the same time, costs are reduced to their most. In this case, no one really cares about the safety and quality of the food.
To sum up, Chinese food safety is experiencing a hard time and food companies are paying for what they have done. Responsibility, honesty. They are the elements as important as the flavor of food. I hope Chinese food can not only stand out for its delicious taste, but also famous for its role in promoting people’s health.