June 25, 2007
Contaminated meat finds its way in China's local market
Tainted meat is making its way into China's domestic market, the government said Friday in its latest warning about food safety problems, threatening tough punishment for anyone selling meat from animals that had died of disease.
The warning comes as China is fighting to overcome intense international criticism for exporting unsafe products, from tainted pet food to popular children's toys made with lead paint.
The latest notice from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said unsafe meat and meat that had been injected with water was being sold in China's markets.
"Recently, the illegal selling of pork from pigs which died of disease was discovered in some parts of the country," the quality watchdog said in a notice posted on its Web site. Inspections must be carried out to ensure that pork from sick animals is not sold to consumers, it said.
The agency did not give specific examples, but reports of people becoming sick after eating tainted or poisoned food are almost daily occurrences in China.
Anyone caught selling the tainted meat would be "severely dealt with," the agency said.
Pork prices have jumped by more than 40 percent over the past year, partly due to a shortage caused by the spread of blue-ear disease.
China's government says the ailment has killed at least 18,000 pigs and Premier Wen Jiabao appeared on national television last month to assure the public the government is tackling the problem. But many farmers have stopped raising pigs for fear they might be stricken by the disease, authorities say.
The warning Friday comes as China is battling an international image problem over the safety of its food and products ahead of next summer's Olympic Games in Beijing.
Chinese wheat gluten tainted with the chemical melamine was blamed for dog and cat deaths in North America.
Other products turned away by US inspectors include toxic monkfish, frozen eel and juice made with unsafe colour additives.
