Food

Danwei TV: Food safety in Beijing

Danwei.org, where I syndicate my podcasts, recently uploaded a user-generated video about food safety in Beijing.

This short film by Ren Bo was shot for Danwei. She asks Chinese consumers in “wet markets and super markets what they worry about when it comes to food safety and hygiene. This video is also on Youtube and Brightcove (faster in US and Europe).

Some of the interviews show a general lack of education and awareness among local Chinese about the origin of food products, sanitation (”I buy whatever looks good”), and the enforcement of government regulations. Others exhibit an aloofness about food safety (”I don’t think it’s very clean. But whatever! I eat it and don’t get sick!”) Some people are more cautious than others (”The meat, I don’t really trust it, but the fruit, it’s OK”), but most people demonstrate a trusting attitude towards marketplaces and government inspections (”The safety is guaranteed by the government.”)

Here is some recent news about food safety in China:

• “Campaign discovers 1,113 tons of unqualified food“
  Xinhua
  October 25, 2007

BEIJING — China had destroyed 667 tons of unqualified or fake food products and ordered 446 tons to be removed from the market by October 8 in a nationwide campaign to improve the quality of goods and food safety, according to official statistics.

• “Food Safety Smarts“
  Wall Street Journal
  October 23, 2007

U.S. media coverage of China’s export quality control problems has focused on tainted Chinese exports of wheat gluten with melamine and seafood with antibiotics. Those headlines, in turn, have spurred demands in Washington for the FDA to “do something.” But the fuss obscures an important point: China may be the third-largest exporter of seafood and agricultural products to the U.S., but it is not the largest violator of U.S. food safety rules. FDA records indicate that the agency stopped more food shipments from India or Mexico in 2006 than from China.

• “Foreign-funded food enterprises in China to see more oversight“
  China Briefing Blog
  October 24, 2007

China’s foreign-funded food enterprises and branch offices - 25,570 according to the latest government figures - can expect increased oversight as Beijing moves to clean up its food safety record.

Click here to view my previous posts about food in China.

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