From TIME magazine:
“Chinese shoppers are used to warnings about tainted food. According to a November report by the Asian Development Bank, food-borne disease affects 300 million Chinese per year, costing up to $14 billion in lost productivity and medical expenses. But a recent string of high-profile health scares involving toxic ingredients has consumers worried about more than a stomachache.In Hong Kong, imports of freshwater fish from the mainland were halted in November for 18 days after officials discovered Malachite Green, a banned fungicide possibly linked to cancer, in samples of fish from local markets.
On Feb. 5, the Chinese government released a list of 10 of last year’s most egregious food-safety cases“everything from selling homemade beer in brand-name bottles to making edible gelatin from old leather. The top spot went to a firm in Jiangsu province busted for adulterating its nationally sold nutritional supplement, supposedly made from silkworm chrysalis. The real ingredients? Dried pig’s blood and chicken feathers.” [Full Text]
See also updates on China’s food management from China Food and Beverage Online. Caption from Du Xiaodan on CCTV.com.