The New York Times reports this morning that the Chinese government says that it has arrested some 774 people during the past two months “as part of a nationwide crackdown on the production and sale of tainted food, drugs and agricultural products.
“Government regulators hailed the arrests as a major step forward for food and drug safety, and said the ‘criminal suspects’ were detained during nationwide inspections of thousands of restaurants, food and drug production plants and wholesale food markets.”
However, there were few details offered by Chinese officials about the nature of the various infractions, and the Times notes that “the government also acknowledged today that problems remain. In its announcement, it said that this month only 82 percent of food tested in medium and large cities in China met safety standards, and nearly 30 percent of the restaurants surveyed by regulators had failed food safety inspections.”
“Government regulators hailed the arrests as a major step forward for food and drug safety, and said the ‘criminal suspects’ were detained during nationwide inspections of thousands of restaurants, food and drug production plants and wholesale food markets.”
However, there were few details offered by Chinese officials about the nature of the various infractions, and the Times notes that “the government also acknowledged today that problems remain. In its announcement, it said that this month only 82 percent of food tested in medium and large cities in China met safety standards, and nearly 30 percent of the restaurants surveyed by regulators had failed food safety inspections.”
- KC's View:
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Many, if not most, consumers likely will think that this is just the tip of the iceberg, and that there is much more not being disclosed by the Chinese government.
“Made in China,” for many of us, remains a warning label.
