Archive for the “China” Category
 Bitter Melon Bitter melon a common vegetable in China, India and South America could be a magic cure for breast cancer. Scientist have found that the bitter melon extract kills the cancer cells while not killing the good cells. Yes it is in early stages and clinical testing has to happen but this could be a major break through in fighting cancer.
In China they eat bitter melon soup all the time. I wonder if women in China who consume the soup have a lower incidence of breast cancer? An interesting research project.
Maybe we should start to import Bitter Melon Soup and sell in the holistic food stores as a possible cancer cure? Or maybe use it in stir fry mixes. Do we have any takers?
See article here: Click here.
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Eight Standards of Zhan’s Zero Pesticide Residual
On November 8th, 2009 several of China’s top agriculture experts (the eight standards) met in Beijing. One of the presenters of interest was Professor Zhan Jingchun who spoke of his research on his Zero Pesticide Residual.
This should be of interest to all of us who are concerned about pesticides on our foods. Professor Zhan after 18 years of work has developed what he calls the Zero Pesticide Residual degradation technology. At its core it will control a series of biochemical reactions in the plants that will cause it to degrade pesticide residual to zero or near-zero. In addition it will reduce heavy metal toxins by 50% to 86%. The product is to be applied either by seed treatment, leaf application or through irrigation into the root of the plants. The product does not have any negative side effects or contamination.
After review and discussion by the experts it was determined that the Zero Pesticide Residual be approved and further testing be done on a commercial basis. The experts feel that not only will the process comply with China’s eight standards but will also meet the standards of Europe, Japan and USA. All efforts will be concentrated on moving forward and getting final registration in Beijing.
We look forward to seeing more details and explanation of the entire process and how it impacts the plants.
Source: Chinese Food Quality Newspaper, Nov 9, 2009
Eight Standards: Fruits, Vegetables, Fruits and Vegetable Powder, Tea, Cereals, Ginseng, Herbs and Cottonseed.
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A report from PaiPai who has been monitoring the news out of China:
“China is suffering the coldest winter (record breaking cold temperature in 30 years history) in Northern, NW, East coast (Yangzi River Triangle Area farm land grounds are frozen solid which is very unusual in that area) part of China, even Southern provinces are affected. The Winter/Spring Crops are damaged. People are scrambling to source fresh vegetables from Sichuan province to many parts of metropolitan areas, like Shanghai for example and prices are going sky high. Many frozen vegetable processing /packing facilities are all having nothing to do, due to lack of raw materials, because fresh vegetables are all going to local markets for people’s daily consumption. Fresh Broccoli and Cauliflowers are in huge demand and hard to come by for frozen vegetable processors. We will see severe shortage of these items in the near future.
This condition will get worse, if the weather condition will not improve in short period of time. It will affect our packers’ ability to get decent prices and good quality/quantities of raw materials in order to fulfill our contracts.”
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Alan Davis of Strategic Solutions Partners, LLC points us to a recent article in Cargo Business News June 26, 2009.
The largest cold chain complex in Tianjin, China with a capacity of 200,000 metric tons will be completed by the end of this year.
The facility will be made up of 5 cold storage warehouses and a 15,000 square meter aquaculture market with processing capacity of 10,000 metric tons per annum.
It is projected to have frozen foodstuff trade volume of 1,000,000 metric tons with a trade value of approximately $4,000,000,000.
Technorati Tags: China, cold storage
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The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) took the unusual steps of detaining certain food products from China without physical examination. Taking action against a country is not the norm, generally it is confined to a specific factory or region. In this case, due to the ubiquitous use of melamine in milk they have elected to detain all food products from China containing milk.
In order to have the product come into the country, each shipment will have to be inspected by an outside lab (third party) to prove that it is free of melamine, or the melamine analog. This testing will be an added cost of up to $1000 per shipment.
The FDA has given the written criteria for other methods of clearance by individual factories as outlined in their Alert (click here for FDA Import Alert).
My question is how will China retaliate???
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-china14-2008nov14,0,1796913.story
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5152668.ece
Technorati Tags: melamine, China, FDA
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Another water chestnut season in China is fast approaching (harvest is December through early March). It will be an interesting year, being that we are coming off of a very short year, strong pent up demand, and in the midst of a global slowdown. What will the season bring??
Frozen and Canned processors scramble for product.
The water chestnut acreage this year is up 20% but due to bad growing conditions. yields are way off and it appears that the market will still be extremely short. In addition to the normal delays encountered during production, we must wait for CIQ (China Inspection and Quarantine) approval of lands to be used for water chestnuts, if they are to be exported.
Initial pricing this year is 40 – 50% higher than last years price. The reason for the current high price is due to the shortage coming into the new crop and the need to fill the pipeline. This applies for both to canned and frozen processors. The canned users are generally willing to pay higher prices then the frozen users therefore they will get initial raw material coming from the fieldsl because of there willingness to pay a premium.
CIQ (China Inspection and Quarantine) delays due to regulation that makes it mandatory that fields be registered with them. This can create some bottlenecks in the supply as packers need to await the certification for the fields being used as well as CIQ approval of finished product before exportation.
The Chinese currency continues to appreciate against the dollar albeit at a much slower rate. Ocean and trucking freight cost remain high but this is starting to come under recessionary pressure.
What to expect?
I would envisage that after the initial replenishment of supply that we will see prices come down due to world wide slowdown. We will encounter consumer resistance to high prices especially for a luxury vegetable such as water chestnuts. Just as we have seen the price of natural resources plummet in the past few months, I believe the food chain will experience the same collapse.
Time will tell, and if I were a betting man, I would bet on lower prices next April or June (and possibly sooner).
The rathe of world wide recession will reck havoc on frozen vegetable pricing in 2009.
Technorati Tags: Water Chestnuts, China
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Pass the Melamine Please
China once again is brought to the forefront with a new melamine scare. Now the problem is eggs. Hong Kong authorities has detected melamine in 4 brands of eggs from China.
The melamine, which is high in nitrogen, is added to the food products to make them appear as having a higher protein content. Melamine is cheap, gives the false impression of higher protein so that food inspectors believe the food products are protein enriched and meeting their minimum protein standards.
The feed industry appears to be using the cheap additive, mixing it with food products of various types, to reduce production cost. It appears that this is a national phenomena and one that all have tacitly approved (including the government). It’s their little “open secret”.
China officials reportedly were aware of the situation and began investigating in early October eggs in Liaoning province, however, they put a ban on any media interviews.
After melamine what next?
Reference:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7701477.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7699100.stm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27320256/
Technorati Tags: China, melamine, eggs
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What if your Chinese living in China and your baby got sick or ill or even worse died from the tainted melamine in the China milk? What recourse do you have?
The Chinese government doesn’t appreciate law suits particularly when the government is part owner of the defendant in the case. After all they are more concerned about economic growth then social well being.
Thus far hundreds of lawyers have volunteered to take on the cases but the Chinese government puts extreme pressure on the lawyers and in the end nothing happens. The complainants are forced to except a small compensation from the government or risk getting nothing.
How about a class action suit?? This is a definite no no. The All China Lawyers Association (ACLA), the country’s bar association, looks down on class action suits and discourages them, and has set up strict rules which in essence make it impossible for a class action suit.
We must remember that in China politics come first and then the law is a distant second.
Makes me wonder what would happen if we as foreigners tried suing the Chinese manufacture of melamine milk if our child got sick or died?
Reference: NY Times Oct 17, 2008
Technorati Tags: China, milk, melamine, melamine milk
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China has managed to do it again. This time it is pesticide contaminated frozen green beans exported to Japan. According to sources the pesticide dichlorvos was detected. Not only was it detected, it was 34,500 times more then the maximum allowed according to the Japanese positive list!!!
I don’t know which is worse the financial crisis or China food safety issues?
According to all the pundits a few months ago there was nothing wrong with the financial system. The same is true with China, saying they have food safety under control.
Then along comes Freddie Mac and Fannie Mac and AIG bailouts but everything is okay. In China it is the melamine tainted milk found but it has been brought under control.
Lehman goes bankrupt, Washington Mutual and Wachovia are headed that way as well (hopefully some white knight will come to the rescue.) More milk manufactures are producing milk with melamine, babies getting sick and some dying. And now we have candy, instant coffee and yoghurt with melamine.
Now the financial crisis has turned into a global route as banks collapse and others join the U.S. in bailouts, the result NO CONFIDENCE. China has now added the pesticide issue to a mounting of food safety issues. Pet food contaminated with melamine a year ago, Gyoza laced with pesticide exported to Japan, melamine contaminated milk found not only in the domestic market but exported to various countries throughout the world, and now the latest pesticide laced green beans.
According to the experts, the financial crisis is a little worse then expected but we are getting it under control, have faith. According to the Chinese authorities they didn’t detect any pesticides on the product and dichlorvos is not used in China, have faith.
CONFIDENCE??? Yes I do have confidence that we are not being told the truth.
Eat on!
Resources:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/5082035/more-fall-ill-to-chinese-beans-official/
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/10/15/japan.beans/index.html?section=cnn_latest
http://www.postchronicle.com/news/breakingnews/article_212179250.shtml
Technorati Tags: China, Japan, food safety, green beans, pesticide
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With all the scares and international attention China has been receiving because of its adulterated milk, which has spread to other products that use milk, such as candy, biscuits etc., Australia has taken the additional step to start testing for melamine in fruits and vegetables.
There are fears in Australia, (which last year imported more then $85 million of food items from China, which are mostly frozen and canned products) that the vegetables and fruits from China may be contaminated with melamine.
Australian authorities from Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) are looking into the allegations and setting up testing protocols to ensure the safety of the products.
At this stage, Lydia Buchtmann of FSANZ, says they are looking into the reports and conducting risk assessments, but as of today, no contamination has been uncovered.
In the meantime more testing both in China and in Australia.
More news:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24465192-36398,00.html
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/factsheets/factsheets2008/melamineinfoodsfromchina/riskassessmentandref4064.cfm
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/factsheets/factsheets2008/melamineinfoodsfromchina/index.cfm
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,434364,00.html
Technorati Tags: China, melamine, Australia, vegetables
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