China Food Fears Go From Pets To People
By Ariana Eunjung Cha
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, April 25, 2007; Page A01
SHANGHAI — Something was wrong with the babies. The villagers noticed their heads were growing abnormally large while the rest of their bodies were skin and bones. By the time Chinese authorities discovered the culprit — severe malnutrition from fake milk powder — 13 had died.
The scandal, which unfolded three years ago after hundreds of babies fell ill in an eastern Chinese province, became the defining symbol of a broad problem in China’s economy. Quality control and product-safety regulation are so poor in this country that people cannot trust the goods on store shelves.
In China, more than 200 million farmers grow a variety of crops on plots of one to two acres, earning less than $200 a year.
In China, more than 200 million farmers grow a variety of crops on plots of one to two acres, earning less than $200 a year. (By Eugene Hoshiko — Associated Press)
Until now, the problem has not received much attention outside of China. In recent weeks, however, consumers everywhere have been learning about China’s safety crisis. Tainted ingredients that originated here made their way into pet food that has sickened and killed animals around the world.
Chinese authorities acknowledge the safety problem and have promised repeatedly to fix it, but the disasters keep coming. Tang Yanli, 45, grand-aunt of a baby who became sick because of the fake milk but eventually recovered, said that even though she now pays more to buy national brands, she remains suspicious.
“I don’t trust the food I eat,” she said. “I don’t know which products are good, which are bad.”
read the rest of this article here:
