Looks like China will have to ramp up the food inspection process and buckle down on the food issues that keep spewing out of the country. It's been announced that Hong Kong inspectors have found eggs from northeast China to be contaminated with high levels of melamine, the same toxic additive that sparked the milk scandal last month. The same scandal that reported more than 50,000 children in China have fallen ill and several deaths have occurred. What is so unnerving about the tainted eggs is that this did not happen once, but twice in less than a week. Tisk, tisk.
There are many "regulations" on the books in China, but are hardly followed. Anyone can be bought for a price if you know what I mean. So, yet again, China is thrown into the headlines about food safety. So now, there is a mad scramble to start inspecting eggs in cities such as Shanghai. Let me recap the things that I recall since 2006- honey contamination, rice wine contamination, pet food recall, lead paint found in toys, moon cake filling, toothpaste, heparin, milk and now eggs. I am very grateful that we made it out of there without any serious side effects. Tony's stint at the hospital for E. Coli or salmonella was pretty hair raising. I handed over the hospital records to our family physician, Dr. D. He reviewed the file and stated that he's never seen "bacteria numbers as high as Tony's and he's actually survived without any serious problems." Usually, "numbers that high, people die." OK- so Tony rolled the dice twice and won. He was very, very lucky.
Scientists in China are worried that the melamine being used to adulterate dairy supplies, may have been intentionally added to animal feed in China. Uh, gee, you think? This would mean that chicken and possibly fish and hog feed could result in poisonous meat and seafood. I am worried for all my friends in China. This limits the food choices. Of course, they can shop at the expatriate markets and pick up meat from New Zealand and seafood imported from outside of China. I used to buy only fish from Japan. You can't imagine my food bill. I'm glad I did it.
The Chinese government has started to arrest individuals "responsible" and has of course, pointed the finger at someone and will probably start executing to show good will. That still doesn't solve the issue of the global food problems and how the world is watching China very, very carefully. Maybe now, China will really start to take things seriously. This on top of the fact, I am positive that the number of effected people has been seriously adulterated. If it's public that there were 50,000 children effected and four deaths, the real number could be double or triple and most assuredly, there are many more deaths than reported. You know how it is, China's got to keep it all hush to save face. The ancient Chinese custom of keeping the dirty little secrets hidden under the carpet and deny anything is wrong. Everything is rosy and just perfect. Nothing like living in denial. It all comes back to bite you in the ass.
The milk scandal surfaced in September, slightly more than a year after tainted pet food was exported to the United States, sickening cats and dogs and touching off global criticism of China’s food safety controls. Beijing responded defiantly to some critics of its record, but late last year it also announced a crackdown on shoddy and unsafe food producers and ordered the closing of thousands of slaughterhouses and food factories.
During that time, several Chinese melamine suppliers admitted in newspaper interviews to selling melamine to animal feed operations and fish feed providers in China. The government, however, never reported finding melamine-tainted fish or animal feed in China’s food supply.
I guess I'll never be granted a visitors visa to go back to China. I'm technically persona non grata. That's the beauty of living in a democracy. I have a right to my opinion and I can express it without being monitored. God Bless America.
