(
CRI Online) 09:31, March 07, 2014
Email|
Print|
Comments twitter facebook Sina Microblog reddit Food safety has come to the top of China's national political agenda during the annual NPCand CPPCC meetings.
At today's press conference, the Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu admits that foodsafety issues are the result of a lack of supervision.
CRI's Ding Lulu finds out what ordinary people want the government to do about thisissue.
57 year-old retiree Li Jianhua was born and raised in the city of Jinan, capital of ShandongProvince in east China.
His wish to add some green to his life has turned the little hill in front of his city centerapartment into a miniature farm, with peach trees, beans, and all sorts of vegetables.
"I just thought it was quite dirty over there and it's in front of my apartment, so I wantedto make it greener. I grew some vines and we can eat all the fruits when they are ripe, so Itold my neighbors to help themselves and they love the produce. I turned it into avegetable farm gradually, I bought cabbage seeds and cucumbers this year."
The popularity of Mr. Li's produce is due to it being completely organic and therefore safe.
Li Jianhua only fertilizes his garden with manure which he ferments himself from animalfeces.
A big food safety scandal in his city two months ago still rattles people's nerves even now.
Meat sold in a local Walmart store labeled as donkey meat was actually found to be foxmeat.
Donkey meat is a popular snack in some parts of China, but foxes are mainly raised for furwhile their meat is generally considered inedible.
Mr. Li is still upset about the whole scandal because it was uncovered by a customer owingto a lack of sufficient government supervision.
"With the Walmart scandal, if the consumer had not complained and had the meat tested,we would always have been kept in the dark. We ordinary people cannot tell the differencejust by tasting the food. Without advanced testing equipment, how can we tell? This showsthat the supervision from relevant authorities is not carried out effectively enough to coverthe upstream producers."
Li Jianhua also believes food safety remains a major concern as the food sector is highlycompetitive but lacks proper supervision.
He recalls a trip to a nearby farm, where the owner gave him some organic cucumberstogether with an industry secret.
"The farmer told me that I can't eat cucumbers sold on the market because progesteroneis used in the farm. It's a type of hormone contained in contraceptive pills. Cucumbersgrown using the hormone ripen within days; the flower doesn't even wither when thecucumber is 20 centimeters long. He said all the cucumbers sold on the market withflowers on it are grown using the hormone."
Food safety issues are a bitter topic in China.
Poor supply chain management has frequently led to scares in products ranging from babymilk to cooking oil.
Mr. Li says he hopes during the two sessions, the government can do something significantenough to stop the constant food safety scandals.
"My expectation is that the government can strengthen supervision. If it cares aboutpeople's health, the supervision over food should be constant. Every batch of food shouldbe checked. The current system consists of random spot-checks; I think it's wrong. Thetainted meat scandal involving the big company Shuanghui was revealed by the mediainstead of government supervision."
Li Jianhua suggests that the current spot-check system gives producers room to maneuveras they self-select which samples to send to regulators.
The labs have already been built, the equipment has been bought, so why aren't they beingused more effectively?
（Editor：SunZhao、Gao Yinan）
Related reading
China pledges harsh measures on food safetyOver 10,000 prosecuted over food safetyLocal watchdogs empowered in food safety shake-upPolluted farmland restored for food safety46 officials punished for food safety scandalsChina to increase safety checks over food, pharmaceuticalsChina introduces provincial food safety centersFull coverage
NPC & CPPCC Sessions 2014We RecommendChaihe village, pure and peaceful fairyland in snowBelgians warmly welcome arrival of China's giant pandasFemale marines receive tactical training in NW ChinaBlood memory: Nanjing Massacre in 1937Top 10 pure beauties in showbizBritish WWII veteran: I can't forgive JapanChinese frigate Yancheng holds drills in Mediterranean SeaA visit to comfort woman's home in South KoreaName:
