CHINA’S FOOD scandal shows little sign of abating, with reports that melamine is widely used in animal feed. Hong Kong authorities also have discovered more eggs contaminated with the toxic chemical.
Food safety fears have devastated sales of tangerines and kumquats, after reports that the harvest in Sichuan province had been infected with fruit flies.
According to the Nanfang newspaper, mixing melamine into animal feed is an “open secret” in the industry, part of a process aimed at giving the impression of a high-protein content. Similar trickery was involved in milk production, which led to thousands of infants being made sick by tainted milk powder, linked to the deaths of four infants.
The newspaper said that chemical plants used to pay companies to treat and dispose of melamine scrap, but about five years ago began selling it to manufacturers who repackaged it as “protein powder”.
The news also ran on the official news agency Xinhua and the Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily, a sign that China is making efforts to come clean on the whole tainted-food fiasco.
These latest revelations are sure to unsettle consumers in China even further, their nerves already rattled by weeks of revelations about poor food safety supervision.
Tangerines are usually a big favourite in Beijing as winter approaches, but this year rumours flew around that the crop in provinces like Sichuan and Hubei had been infected by fruit-fly maggots. These rumours were subsequently confirmed, one month after initially circulated, causing further heartache among consumers.
The discovery of melamine is so unsettling because it confirms the fear that everyone holds – that melamine has become deeply embedded in the human food chain and will be difficult to get out.
Hong Kong investigators have found melamine in a batch of eggs from China, the third in a week, prompting the territory to urge Beijing to take action.
Wal-Mart Stores pulled Gegeda-brand eggs from its shelves in China this week.
China has accused Japan of producing tainted frozen beans and dodgy dumplings, accusations which almost caused a diplomatic incident. Beijing said yesterday it had found toxic chemicals, used in paint, in Japanese mustard and soy sauce.