Articles in the September 2011 editions of China Today and NewsChina magazines (neither available on their English-language websites) both address recent food safety scandals.
So far in 2011, per these sources and other news outlets, Chinese
consumers have put up with contaminated pork, dyed steamed buns (made with
cardboard), recycled bread, recycled cooking oil, contaminated duck, poisoned
bean sprouts, noodles, and peppers, seen watermelons explode in their fields
due to applications of artificial growth hormones, and pork cuts that glow in
the dark.
And as we’ve linked on the weninchina.com Formula Concerns page, tampering with China’s milk supply continued well after the 2008
tragedies became common knowledge.
The China Today
article lists various regional and local law-enforcement initiatives put forth
to encourage the public to report tampering and punish producers who violate
the law, inferring that food safety standards in the People’s Republic are
similar or better than international and US regulations.
In contrast, the NewsChina
article cites a domestic expert saying Chinese dairy products “some of the
worst in the world” and the majority of milk available “is no better than
ordinary water.”
This article reports the regulations on bacterial density in
raw milk were changed in 2010 to allow up to 2 million microorganisms per
milliliter – 20 times more than the American standard, and 70 times higher than
the Danish regulation. The minimum requirements for protein content were also
relaxed and are now well below international standards.
NewsChina claims
in the article these changes were in the interest of the two largest dairy
companies, Mengniu and Yili (who together control over half the Chinese
market), to allow them to use lower-quality, lower-priced raw milk supplies which
can be processed at high temperatures, as opposed to traditional
pasteurization. The high-temperature method allows the milk product to be
shelf-stable for up to 3 months so it can be distributed nationally, but it
also requires adding protein and thickening agents. (The melamine added to raw
milk in the 2008 scandals was to make the milk appear to pass the
protein-standard tests.)
The article notes disagreement among Chinese dairy-industry
experts – milk processors cite the low quality of raw milk coming from
independent farmers as the reason for needing lower standards, but others say
the low prices being paid by the processors are keeping farmers from improving
farm conditions and equipment that would create better-quality supply. NewsChina notes Mengniu and Yili have
greater spending on advertising and distribution than on efforts to improve
their supply chain quality.
Until this market imbalance significantly changes – as it
did in Western countries over the 20th Century – to include dairy
price supports, farmer-led co-operative production organizations, and
independent and rigorous public health authorities, the presence of stiff laws
will not prevent further scandals. The China
Today article acknowledges this, quoting Xu Hu, deputy director of Public
Order Administration of the Ministry of Public Security: “…the cost of
lawbreaking is perceived as low, and the law will not really protect consumers
and potential victims.”
For families traveling to China for adoption, it is still
recommended to heed the 2008 milk powder / infant formula warnings, and bring
formula from home or international brands picked up in Hong Kong. For adults
and older children just visiting, don’t avoid milk products (like ice cream)
outright, but as with any food, pay attention to your senses – if something
seems not right, eat something else.
