During a nationwide teleconference on Monday Chinese Premier Li Keqiang urged “strict market supervision and harsh penalties” to improve food safety and assure costumers that something like the melamine milk scandal will never happen again. “Perpetrators must pay such a high price that they can not afford,” said Keqiang, according to official news outlet Xinhua…. Continue Reading
There have been a few signs this week that state health departments are beginning to prepare for the still unlikely event of China’s expanding outbreak of H7N9 bird flu reaching the United States. The Maine Public Health Alert Network System was used Tuesday to get the word out to local health officials, labs, emergency management officials,… Continue Reading
More than 13,000 dead pigs have been fished out of rivers in and near Shanghai, renewing concerns about animal disease and water safety in China, according to the South China Morning Post. The paper reported that among those carcasses found, 9,500 of them were retrieved from the Huangpu River, which is a major source of… Continue Reading
The Chinese government destroyed incoming products from three food giants – Ikea, Kraft and Nestle – at the end of 2012 for violations of food quality standards, revealed Shanghai’s quarantine bureau this week. The agency said that it discovered high levels of coliform bacteria in chocolate almond cakes destined for Ikea stores, and subsequently destroyed… Continue Reading
Five people and two U.S. honey processors were charged with federal crimes last week as a result of an investigation into illegal importation of honey from China, known as “Honeygate,” led by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations. The government is alleging that Chinese honey — which can be laced with… Continue Reading
Thirty-three U.S. senators from livestock states, including Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Thad Cochran (R-MS), chairwoman and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, on Tuesday sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk urging him to “quickly address” Russia’s recent ban on all U.S. beef, pork and turkey over residues of ractopamine, an animal… Continue Reading
Manure from Chinese pig farms contains both antibiotic residues and high concentrations of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, a new study published Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study adds to evidence that antibiotics used by China’s pork producers pose health risks. The study, led by the Chinese Academy… Continue Reading
China’s food safety investigation into antibiotics found in chickens served by Yum Brands didn’t result in any fines or other enforcement action. That’s the good news. The bad news for Yum Brands is that recovery is going to take longer than the company predicted and it’s going to put a longer squeeze on profits than… Continue Reading
Chinese authorities have taken 350 people suspected of food safety crimes into custody since the end of January, according to the Ministry of Public Security. The arrests come as part of a government crackdown on food violations that began last month in anticipation of the Chinese Lunar New Year, which will take place this year… Continue Reading
Supply chain failures, first in China and now in Canada, might have Yum! Brands CEO David Novak singing that old Frank Sinatra song about “riding high in April, shot down in May.’” Novak, also a motivational speaker and author, was coming off a year that saw a book published not long after being named as… Continue Reading
At the close of 2012, the city of Bejing passed a new law that will ban vendors who produce or sell unsafe food from the municipality. The regulation was passed December 26 by the Standing Committee of the 13th Beijing Municipal People’s Congress, and will go into effect April 1, 2013, according to Xinhua. This decision… Continue Reading