Food safety is still crucial issue in China

The issue of food safety is very important to China, particularly in rural areas that lack control and supervision. Although the Chinese government has stepped up supervision of food and dairy products and liquor sold in rural areas at all points in the supply chain, it has to take more effective measures to ensure food safety.

A large number of people fall sick because of intentional contamination of food by producers or because of careless and unsupervised practices. Some prohibited substances are added to food products to mask their poor quality, extend their shelf life or make them look more nutritious.

Almost three years after a national health scare over melamine-contaminated milk products shook China's dairy industry there has been a new wave of reports on adulterated food. Melamine is a substance used in fertilizers and plastics, and when added to food products it pretends to increase their protein content during food-quality tests. This substance, which some Chinese food producers added (and some still do) to infant milk products, chocolate and other food, could cause permanent damage to kidneys if consumed in large quantities.