Food security scandals have been exposed one after one recently.
According to media reports at the beginning of April, workers at a Shanghai Shenglu Food Co plant in Baoshan district relabeled buns made two days earlier with new production dates. Employees added buns that were more than a week over their expiration date and had been returned by retailers back into mixers to make a batch of "new" buns.
Chemicals were added in random amounts, though they did not appear on the list of ingredients as required by law. The added ingredients included sodium cyclamate, an artificial sweetener nearly 30 times sweeter than sugar, as well as potassium sorbate, a food preservative. Yellow coloring was used in so-called corn flour buns that actually contained little corn.
About ten days later, another food security scandal became news headlines.
Harmful food additives, which can change both pork's appearance and taste into those of beef, have been found in markets in Hefei, Anhui Province, the Anhui News reported on April 13.
According to local residents, the "beef extract," which can also turn chicken into "beef," is frequently used in little shops and and snack bars.
An owner of a spice store told a reporter that the "beef extract" should be used with the combination of another spice called "maltol" so as to reduce the fishy smell of pork.
Zhang Hongxu, a doctor at the Anhui Provincial Friendship Hospital, said that the food additives could lead to chronic poisoning, deformity and cancer, and advised citizens to avoid buying unusually bright-colored cooked food in the markets. (Edited from China Daily and Global Times)
