No matter where anyone travels in the world there are always differences to contend with. They include cultural, religious, lifestyle, Political and language to name some.
Essential to well being is the air we breath and the water and food we ingest.
- THE GOOD OR BAD OIL- In China, of course, we are eager to sample traditional Chinese food and it can be very good. Maybe, not so good.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/chinese-journalist-following-gutter-oil-scandal-is-found-dead/In the interest of your good health I urge you to consider this report.
Why the Journalist was murdered is not clear, however, the Chinese Government Officials report that people have been arrested for peddling this recycled oil that has been used in Chinese restaurants. The problem facing everyone (other than Chinese Government Officials, who can protect themselves to a greater extent) is where is it safe to eat? Flip a coin? Heads you win or heads you lose? The report says that at least 2 million tons of the stuff is illegally recycled annually. If you have a tummy upset may the good oils be with you! And, no matter how strongly the Chinese Government says it is cracking down on the Recyclers they do not have the resource to stamp out the practice and protect consumers. And if corrupt officials are involved? This link leads to another article dated 14.9.2011 http://www1.szdaily.com/content/2011-09/14/content_6045987.htm
The oil drums photo came from that article.
- MILK, WATERMELONS, PIG, CHICKENS, VEGETABLES IN CHINA
Poisoned milk grabbed world headlines recently following on the deaths and sickness caused many Chinese babies given milk tainted with melamine. Just weeks ago, a friend in China made recent inquiries regarding importing the family supply of milk from Australia because they have no trust in Chinese milk. In China I ate yoghurt supplied to the Chinese Army but had to run the risk with Chinese milk. The Government gaoled one parent for exposing the problem on a website. Typical Chinese Government reaction, to shoot the messenger. The photograph comes from this article (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/07/china-tainted-milk-kept-s_n_414907.html). In part, the article reports "The Shanghai dairy had been part of one of China's worst food safety crises, the 2008 tainted milk scandal in which six children died and more than 300,000 fell sick after drinking baby formula contaminated with an industrial chemical. Dairy and local officials were accused of keeping the scandal quiet until after the Beijing Olympics."
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2010044,00.html Time World report 12.8.2010
The advent of puberty in toddlers. Following on from the 2008 milk scandal children have been found with premature development. While there may be many causes of the phenomenon links to China contaminated foods cannot be discounted. The inability for China to regulate it's food production is born out by the 2008 poisoning and their inability to control farm practices.
Consider the exploding water melons and the use of dangerous chemicals in farming-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/17/exploding-watermelons-chinese-farming The Guardian Report 17.5.2011
Not only were watermelons exploding dangerous chemicals and hormones have been used in farming. At least one farmer fed contaminated watermelons to his pigs. And who ate the pigs?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14387817 BBC News Asia Pacific 04.08.2011 Wealthy Chinese begin farming after food-safety scares
'Boiling with hatred'
Whether it is exploding melons or pigs pumped full of steroids to produce lean meat, many in China simply do not trust what is put on their dinner tables.
This worries the authorities, anxious that people will lose trust in a government if it cannot ensure the safety of what they eat.
These part-time farmers are the lucky few who have the time - and money - to produce their own foodMelamine-tainted baby formula killed at least six children and 300,000 others fell ill.
Wang Gang is still living with the consequences. His son - Zi Yuan - developed kidney stones after being fed the baby formula.
Mr Wang continues to worry about his Zi Yuan's health. He wants justice for his son.
"I think the government needs to bear responsibility," he says, standing in his kitchen surrounded by papers and packets of baby formula which he has kept for three years.
"Our court case keeps getting delayed. I'm boiling with hatred over this but I'm trying to control myself."
The Chinese authorities have enacted stricter policies to ensure food safety.
Wang Zi Yuan developed kidney stones after being fed the tainted baby formulaBut regulations are often flouted in China. And with food price inflation rising, some producers will continue to cut corners in order to fatten up the bottom-line.
After a hard day's work, the group of young professionals at the Beijing co-operative farm retired to an upmarket apartment.
They cooked a meal using the fresh produce they had harvested.
"It definitely tastes better when you grow it yourself," says one of them.
But they are the lucky few, who have the time - and the money - to produce their own food.
Many others have little choice in what they eat.
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TOXIC COW PEAS
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/food-scare-over-toxic-cowpeas-spreads-in-china-30574.html
Epoch Times Article - 1.3.2010
Excerpt from the 1.3.2010 article:
China has been hit by a widening food scare over vegetable crops contaminated with a highly toxic pesticide. Reports of contaminated cowpeas have captured the attention of media and the public across China since early February.
Isocarbophos, a banned pesticide, was first detected in cowpeas in Wuhan City in Hubei Province by the city’s Agricultural Bureau in early February. The cowpeas were grown in China's southernmost Hainan Province, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency on Feb. 22.
Since then, tests on cowpeas were conducted in different areas across China, and isocarbophos was also found in the Hainan-grown cowpeas sold in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Anhui Provinces.
...... Mainland media have raised questions about food inspection and safety in Hainan Province. Reports indicate that, although isocarbophos is banned, most farmers can still purchase it easily. Moreover, there’s only one inspection apparatus in Hainan Province. Food inspection can cost up to 2,000 yuan (US$293) per vegetable type. Because of this, the banning of pesticides exists in name only, and loopholes in the inspection process are apparent.
Any Chinese agricultural product imported into Australia carries with it the risks faced by ordinary Chinese everyday. Our safeguard is not to import from China.
- DOWN AND OUT - WHEN FEATHERS MAY NOT TICKLE YOUR FANCY
Chinese down collection caused IKEA to cancel supplies of Chinese down.
You may need to consider Chinese feather collection practices if you buy feather products in, or from, China. Australia made will do me thanks. The Chinese feather products may not damage your health but your purchase may be perpetuating the cruel practices disclosed in this report.
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| Beijing building site. Bamboo scaffolding. Air Pollution evident |
- WATER SUPPLY AND AIR QUALITY
Of the world's 20 most polluted cities 16 are in China. Water quality is a health issue and using boiled water may not necessarily make it safe and drinkable. The pollutants in the water are not boiled out and a solution is bottled water. However, bottled water may be ordinary tap water bottled for your convenience. Brushing teeth, particularly, poses a problem with the local water supply.
http://www.wri.org/publication/content/7833 World Resource Institute Report
Air quality is an issue. Consider the numbers of people you may see wearing masks. The dust that blows into Beijing from Mongolia is an extreme hazard but so is the generally polluted air. At times it is difficult to see it is will rain because the sky is grey from pollution. Clarity of photographs is compromised by air pollution and is evident within 400 metres from a city subject.
- COOKING ADDITIVES - Please remember that ordinary Chinese are faced with this every day
http://www.ministryoftofu.com/2011/09/photos-what-do-you-really-eat-when-you-go-to-a-restaurant-in-china/
According to this article from The Ministry of Tofu the chemicals in this additive are unidentified. They are addictive.
READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE. Information provided by a Chinese cook.
http://www.ministryoftofu.com/2011/04/picture-of-the-day-condom-found-in-swill-cooked-oil-intended-for-chinese-diners/ - How would you like your condom? New or used?
CONTAMINATED SOILS - RICE - Other Agricultural Products Contaminated?
An exerpt from New China Magazine : 16.2.2011
"During China's fast-paced industrialisation, activities such as mining have sprung up everywhere, releasing into the environment chemical elements like cadmium, arsenic, mercury and other harmful heavy metals," the report said.
"These harmful heavy metals have spread through the air and water, polluting a rather large area of China's land ... a complete chain of food contamination has existed for years."
Chinese Garlic and any other food sourced from China left on the supermarket shelves - not for my larder.
Unfortunately for the Chinese masses they have little option other than to buy and eat the local product. There appears to have been an effort to feed Officials from "clean" sources to maintain their health.
An alarming aspect of China's contamination and pollution woes is that some of their product may find it's way to, and be used by, international Food Processors trusted by Australians. From there it comes to our tables with packaging not necessary identifying the complete food source. Where are those frozen beans and peas etc. actually grown?
CHINESE MEDICINE PRODUCTS - How safe are they?
Excerpt from the New York Times article - 30.3.2008. Relates to USA:
Chinese drug regulators have also begun to take small steps toward plugging some of the country’s gaping regulatory holes, particularly with the thousands of chemical companies that sell pharmaceutical ingredients without a drug license. Regulators have much to do and many obstacles to overcome in trying to adapt to changes brought on by globalization.
The way heparin is made and distributed illustrates the challenges they face. The drug’s raw material comes from mucous membranes in the intestines of slaughtered pigs. Those membranes are mixed together and cooked, a process that in China often takes place in unregulated family workshops.
It is then transported to middlemen, called consolidators, who direct the product to plants in China that manufacture heparin’s active ingredient for shipment to either another trader or the finished dose manufacturer. In the United States, the tainted ingredients ended up at Baxter International, which later had to recall the blood thinner.
Since the outbreak in the United States, Japan and several countries in Europe have recalled certain heparin products made with Chinese ingredients. In some instances, European traders buy and sell the heparin to companies in other countries, extending the supply chain even more.
...... More than 500 plants in China export drug ingredients to the United States but the agency inspected only 13 of them last year.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/weekinreview/30bogdanich.html New York Times article 30.3.2008
The lack of reliable regulation of medicine manufacture in China is putting Australian health at risk. The safest option is not to use anything originating from China. The difficulty, as with food product sale and distribution, is being able to identify, along the chain, what Chinese product is used in medicines made available to unsuspecting Australians.
The easiest option may be that Medicine Importers to Australia must provide documentation where ingredients are sourced from. If the Chinese Government cannot satisfactorily regulate production within its own borders why should the onus, responsibility (and expense) be placed on Australian Government Health Departments to test more pharmaceuticals than necessary. Simply do not allow anything with Chinese ingredients into Australia, do not test the product and save costs.
