Latest comments posted about China's food fears (part one) on ChinaDialogue en-gb http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/374-China-s-food-fears-part-one- http://staging.chinadialogue.net/images/cdlogo.gif http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/374-China-s-food-fears-part-one- I wonder if this conversation is still active... Anyway, I wonder whether food safety in China is now improving. Also do you think there is a significant difference between the safety of exported food and that produces for the domestic market? Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:45:00 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-9945 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-9945 I remember a story from more than twenty years ago when someone made a lot of people got sick because they sold motor oil as cooking oil. Sat, 27 Sep 2008 00:36:31 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-7887 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-7887 A saying in the US is that "cheaters never prosper." In this case the companies in question are breaking all sorts of laws and regulations to the great detrement of the people. What is needed is a monopolistic company, perhaps government run, that can be trusted to provide safe food to the public at an affordable price. Cheaters should never prosper. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 18:58:18 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-7040 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-7040 I cannot believe this! Thu, 19 Apr 2007 02:07:16 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-3541 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-3541 In my opinion, public health risk is as paramount as or may be even more paramount than environmental pollution. The case of food safety in China is again a reflection of conflict between common good and private profit, as is the pollution of China’s environment. When economic profit is the driver, common good is often neglected. To address the problems, the country needs to have a system which may include legal, institutional and economic solutions. Fri, 06 Oct 2006 05:55:54 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-265 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-265 After reading this article, it pretty much confirms in my mind what I believe are lax regulations. I am a Canadian currently working in China, and have witnessed many incidents where some local authorities drive around in a truck using a megaphone telling shop owners to not do this or not do that. And then when these officials leave, the shop owners continue doing what they were doing. It's a cultural problem more than anything, and this can be the result of China's rise in status. The regulations must be followed AND carried out by local governments, otherwise you are just applying "band-aid" solutions. Sat, 23 Sep 2006 09:53:32 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-249 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-249 I do not think this is a case of demonising China. This is a report written by a Chinese writer, originally published in a Chinese publication about a serious threat to the health of Chinese people. Surely Chinese people -- and visitng foreigners for that matter -- have a right to know about the degradation of the food they eat every day? If they have information at least Chinese people will know what food to avoid for themselves and their children and can work towards getting the kinds of standards on food safety that exist to protect the consumer in many other countries. Development is not just about economic growth. It is also about the effective enforcement of the law and standards of public health. There are many connections between environmental issues and food safety all over the world, from the treatment of animals to bad agricultural practices that result in food that damages people's health -- in China and in other countries. The important issue is the health and safety of consumers. Keeping quiet about it -- or shooting the messenger --does nothing to solve the problem, in China or anywhere else. Tue, 19 Sep 2006 13:37:28 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-238 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-238 It is a fact that there are too many cases in China similar to those reported in this article, from Chinese ham and milk powder to cosmetics from Japan found to contain chemicals harmful to people's health. It seems that ordinary people in China have become numb and indifferent (and thus vulnerable) to sham and counterfeit products. Who should be held responsible, business people or the state quality inspection department? Personally, I think the state department should tighten its inspection and examination efforts. We should not try to make up for losses which we could avoid by adopting timely measures earlier, because we can't afford to play with ordinary people's lives. Sun, 17 Sep 2006 12:08:58 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-232 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-232 This article is completely lacking in constructive ideas or suggestions about China's food scares. Is there any society that doesn't have criminals? For non-Chinese people who know little about China, this will no doubt reinforce negative, 'demonised' impressions of China. chinadialogue should not contribute to this and become a forum for these kinds of 'demonising' viewpoints. Also, I'm not happy with the translation of my previous post: I didn't mean to say there was no connection between food and the environment, but that the article didn't seem to fit with chinadialogue's usual editorial policy. Fri, 15 Sep 2006 18:41:37 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-227 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-227 Sure, China's food safety problems could have been reported for several times in China, but to most foreigners it is probably new information. chinadialogue aims to promote understanding between cultures. To fulfill this aim-- to help Chinese people and the rest of the world to know more about each other - is an important part of our work. chinadialogue is not only intended to expose problems in any one country but also promote the country's achievements. Any human activities could affect the environment, food production is not immune in this regard. Bird flu (H5N1) and mad cow disease (BSE) are linked to food production and have caused environment damage. wdy from chinadialogue Thu, 14 Sep 2006 19:24:05 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-226 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/374#comment-226