09-06-2013, 08:09 PM
Chinese officials’ handling of rice scare prompts outrage
By DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW
560 words
21 May 2013
International Herald Tribune
INHT
English
© 2013 The New York Times Company. All Rights Reserved.
‘‘Cadmium rice,’’ as it is dubbed, or rice laced with levels of the metal cadmium that exceed national safety standards, has become the latest food scare in China, prompting a health and public relations scandal in a nation long used to — and deeply worried about — unsafe food.
Last week, the authorities in the southern province of Guangdong found that more than 44 percent of rice or rice products tested there contained too-high levels of the poisonous metal, which is found in zinc ores and, to a lesser extent, in the mineral greenockite. Its presence in soil as a contaminant is closely associated with zinc mining.
But the authorities at the Guangzhou Food and Drug Administration then clammed up, declaring it was ‘‘not convenient to reveal’’ the affected brands, thus leaving consumers unable to protect themselves.
That incited consternation, and a storm of criticism, in the news media and online. Over the weekend, the authorities relented, releasing the names of eight rice brands and products, out of 18 tested, that had unacceptably high levels of cadmium. The findings were part of random food safety tests in the first quarter of the year and did not cover all of the rice available on the market, the government said. Levels of as much as 0.4 milligram per kilogram of rice were found, twice China’s safety limit, according to Xinhua, the state-run news agency.
Xinhua offered this practical, if short-term, advice, as did People’s Daily, the Communist Party mouthpiece: ‘‘Experts recommend that people should not consume food and drink from one particular region for long, instead they should diversify to lower the risk.’’
That prompted some hilarity online, with netizens marveling that the party newspaper would offer such advice. ‘‘That’ll ensure that everyone gets their share of cadmium,’’ someone called Ning Fushen remarked in a post on Sina Weibo.
In the longer term, Xinhua and People’s Daily noted, the problem must be solved by cleaning up China’s soil, known to be contaminated in many areas from industrial waste and mining. It also needs better environmental protection laws and implementation, as well as better testing, they said.
The articles singled out lead as another soil contaminant. Cadmium is used in nickel-cadmium batteries in mobile phones, cameras and computers. As a major battery producer, China is a major consumer of cadmium.
‘‘Cadmium in rice usually comes from the soil where it grows, and the soil was polluted by mining and chemical wastes,’’ Fan Zhihong, a food safety expert at China Agricultural University in Beijing, told the state-run Global Times.
Cadmium, a known carcinogen, builds up in the body and damages the kidneys and lungs and can cause bone disease. Ingestion via food is the main source for nonsmokers, while smokers’ intake may be twice that of nonsmokers, according to the Web site of the International Cadmium Association.
Cadmium contamination is an issue around the world: the main sources are phosphate fertilizers, the burning of fossil fuels and iron and steel production, according to the group.
Contaminated rice has long been a problem in China, with a Nanjing Agricultural University research project in 2011 finding that about 10 percent of rice sold across the nation contained too much cadmium, Global Times reported.
International Herald Tribune
Document INHT000020130520e95l0003j
By DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW
560 words
21 May 2013
International Herald Tribune
INHT
English
© 2013 The New York Times Company. All Rights Reserved.
‘‘Cadmium rice,’’ as it is dubbed, or rice laced with levels of the metal cadmium that exceed national safety standards, has become the latest food scare in China, prompting a health and public relations scandal in a nation long used to — and deeply worried about — unsafe food.
Last week, the authorities in the southern province of Guangdong found that more than 44 percent of rice or rice products tested there contained too-high levels of the poisonous metal, which is found in zinc ores and, to a lesser extent, in the mineral greenockite. Its presence in soil as a contaminant is closely associated with zinc mining.
But the authorities at the Guangzhou Food and Drug Administration then clammed up, declaring it was ‘‘not convenient to reveal’’ the affected brands, thus leaving consumers unable to protect themselves.
That incited consternation, and a storm of criticism, in the news media and online. Over the weekend, the authorities relented, releasing the names of eight rice brands and products, out of 18 tested, that had unacceptably high levels of cadmium. The findings were part of random food safety tests in the first quarter of the year and did not cover all of the rice available on the market, the government said. Levels of as much as 0.4 milligram per kilogram of rice were found, twice China’s safety limit, according to Xinhua, the state-run news agency.
Xinhua offered this practical, if short-term, advice, as did People’s Daily, the Communist Party mouthpiece: ‘‘Experts recommend that people should not consume food and drink from one particular region for long, instead they should diversify to lower the risk.’’
That prompted some hilarity online, with netizens marveling that the party newspaper would offer such advice. ‘‘That’ll ensure that everyone gets their share of cadmium,’’ someone called Ning Fushen remarked in a post on Sina Weibo.
In the longer term, Xinhua and People’s Daily noted, the problem must be solved by cleaning up China’s soil, known to be contaminated in many areas from industrial waste and mining. It also needs better environmental protection laws and implementation, as well as better testing, they said.
The articles singled out lead as another soil contaminant. Cadmium is used in nickel-cadmium batteries in mobile phones, cameras and computers. As a major battery producer, China is a major consumer of cadmium.
‘‘Cadmium in rice usually comes from the soil where it grows, and the soil was polluted by mining and chemical wastes,’’ Fan Zhihong, a food safety expert at China Agricultural University in Beijing, told the state-run Global Times.
Cadmium, a known carcinogen, builds up in the body and damages the kidneys and lungs and can cause bone disease. Ingestion via food is the main source for nonsmokers, while smokers’ intake may be twice that of nonsmokers, according to the Web site of the International Cadmium Association.
Cadmium contamination is an issue around the world: the main sources are phosphate fertilizers, the burning of fossil fuels and iron and steel production, according to the group.
Contaminated rice has long been a problem in China, with a Nanjing Agricultural University research project in 2011 finding that about 10 percent of rice sold across the nation contained too much cadmium, Global Times reported.
International Herald Tribune
Document INHT000020130520e95l0003j