poor food safety in China

PCVs Ben and Christine stayed over Friday night.  In the morning I made us oatmeal, one of the few organic, maybe, grains I can find.  I was about to dump some honey on top when Ben said, “Have you heard about Chinese honey?”  My head snapped around, “What?” I asked, knowing the news would not be good.

When Ben talks, I listen; he’s only 27 years old, but when it comes to China and world politics, he knows what he’s talking about.  He’s an American born Chinese ("ABC"), his parents were born in China, and he majored in Chinese and politics.  He’s thoughtful, well read, and calls it like he sees it, a trait that spills over into his wry sense of humor.  “Just look it up,” he said, derailing breakfast as Christine and I did a quick search.

The problem: “honey laundering,” (I can’t type that without laughing), currently still an international issue.   Chinese honey producers came up with a scary non-honey concoction to pass off as 100% honey to the world.  It’s no surprise that this non-honey also contains toxins.  The European Union banned Chinese honey and the United States imposed a high tariff on it, so China sends its honey to India or other Asian countries where it’s then exported.  Now, the EU has banned honey from India.  What’s the US currently doing?  Well, not much. 

With my honey jar in the garbage, we finally ate oatmeal, and talked about other China food safety problems.

do I risk it?

Another huge problem is milk.  Almost immediately after I arrived in China, I started hearing about tainted, toxic milk.   This hits me hard because I like milk in my coffee and I like yogurt too.   In 2008, Chinese companies produced contaminated milk that contained melamine, making hundreds of thousands sick and killing at least 6 babies.  Two people were executed in connection with the practice.  But, milk in China continues to be of questionable quality.

milk substitute 

I find it odd, that for all of our PC safety and security training, major food contamination problems weren’t discussed.  However, we were taught how to clean fresh fruits and vegetables, advised to stay away from meat, and cautioned to be very careful about eggs (because of possible SARS).

In Chongqing, vegetables and fruits are plentiful and cheap, both very good for my health and my budget, but they take time and energy to clean because they are not safe to eat.  Chinese farmers liberally use pesticides and herbicides.  Heavy metals and bacteria are in the soil and air.

Basically, the rule is: peel it or cook it.   No salad!  Do you hear me crying?  That’s right, in 9 months I haven’t had a salad …sob.

basic stir fry 

salad with dinner?

cooked lettuce

vegetable washing soap

peel it

wash it. soaking blueberries in soap AND bleach