November 5, 2014

Chinese consumers increasingly concerned about food safety

China's growing middle-class population has made food safety and food variety major issues to consider in food production, an official of a major global stakeholder has said.

Paul Conway, vice chairman of commodities trader Cargill Inc., said "the Chinese population has become highly sensitized to food safety and rightly so," according to a Reuters report.

China has faced several food safety issues including the melamine-tainted dairy case in 2008 that caused the deaths of six babies.

"We are positive not only on China but on the region generally about the emergence of a stronger and more vibrant middle class who demand more variety and better quality in their food," Conway said.

He said the healthcare and education sectors will also require more higher-quality food as China shifts to a consumption-driven economic expansion.

China is toughening its fight against food safety violators in the face of rising incidents of food scares. KFC-parent Yum Brands, Wal-Mart Stores and McDonald's recently faced food safety issues with suppliers.

The world's second-largest economy is also moving from backyard hog farms to mechanized modern plants requiring higher volumes of grain-based compound feeds.