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Food safety: Be proactive
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-23 08:40 The Shanghai Food and Drug Administration-imposed ban on crayfish washing powder this week must have come as a big blow to millions of crayfish eaters and vendors in the country. The unlabelled washing powder, which contains illegal and suspicious ingredients that the SFDA is still investigating, has been used widely in the country's restaurants and food stalls to clean the dirty freshwater crustacean. Previous methods of sprucing the crayfish with a brush are not only time consuming, but also expose workers to attacks from the vicious pincers. Crayfish soaked in washing powder for barely 10 minutes looks more appealing and sells for a higher price in the market. Yet, its possible health hazards are shocking, considering its popularity. The little-known crayfish shot up on the Chinese menu less than a decade ago, with farmers dramatically increasing production and special crayfish restaurants mushrooming across the country. Some counties and cities are also vying to be the "crayfish capital" of China.
While applauding the SFDA for its resolute decision, it is a pity that the powder, which contains citric acid, sulfite and other unknown additives, became suspect after years of use. Likewise for the melamine-tainted milk formula and Clenbuterol-contaminated pork, which were blacklisted long after they hit the market. The question is, can the food and drug administration (FDA), or other food safety watchdogs for that matter, detect food quality problems before they harm a huge number of consumers? To avert crisis, FDA and other government departments really need to adopt a proactive approach. It should include a timely and comprehensive information gathering and surveillance system, as well as a strong network of food safety agencies, capable of monitoring any food safety issues in their jurisdiction. The country's new Food Safety Law, which comes into effect on June 1, was approved by the National People's Congress on Feb 28. The law has been hailed as a giant leap forward in terms of China's efforts to ensure food safety and restore public confidence. Several proactive measures, if implemented, would make the food we eat safer. But it would not be acceptable to the public that the food and drug administration, responsible for monitoring food safety on a daily basis, detects unsafe ingredients only when they have disabled or killed humans. (China Daily 05/23/2009 page4) |
