Tainted Foods Are Daily Problem in Asia

[jpak]

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-asia/2007/jun/16/061601915.html

As Nguyen Van Ninh needles his chopsticks through a steaming bowl of Vietnam's famous noodle soup, he knows it could be spiked with formaldehyde. But the thought of slurping up the same chemical used to preserve corpses isn't enough to deter him.

"I think if we don't see those chemicals being put in the food with our own eyes, then we can just smack our lips and pretend that there are no chemicals in the food," he said, devouring a 30-cent bowl of "pho" on a busy Hanoi sidewalk. "Why worry about it?"

While the discovery of tainted imports from China has shocked Westerners, food safety has long been a problem in much of Asia, where enforcement is lax and food poisoning deaths are not unusual. Hot weather, lack of refrigeration and demand for cheap street food drives vendors and producers to find inexpensive - and often dangerous - ways to preserve their products.

What's exported, for the most part, is the good stuff. Companies know they must meet certain standards if they want to make money. But in the domestic market, substandard items and adulterated foods abound, including items rejected for export.

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[ewoden]

1. Ahhhh the sweet taste of unfettered capitalism n/t

[Deja Q]

2. Well, that's up to their government to regulate.

Or perhaps not, their own government might want to cull their own population.

Or maybe it's about unregulated capitalism.

Who knows?

Just don't buy generic or store brand foods and scout out for countries of origin. And not vote for politicians who want to help corporations who hide their country of origin facts.

[kurth]

4. And when in Asia, do not eat like Asians

Nothing against Asians.

[kurth]

3. Lard made with hog slop, sewage, pesticides and recycled industrial oil

Fucking unbelievable.