More on the tainted food scandals in China:
It’s scary to live here not knowing if the food and drinks are safe.
The above quote comes from CNN correspondent John Vause. The CNN website has an interesting Behind the Scenes feature, where their correspondents share their own experiences. Written from a personal point of view, they offer a refreshing perspective on the events they cover. Here are some excerpts from John Vause’s take on eating in China.
Eating out in China used to be one of the great experiences of living here. I often thought going out with friends and colleagues for dinner was a bit like the game of “Hungry Hungry Hippos” — vast quantities of amazing food that made dining a pleasure. Best of all, it was affordable and palatable.
But these days, the joy of anticipation of what the next dish will bring has been replaced with, well, the dread of what the next dish may contain.
When ordering at restaurants, I wonder: Is that drug-tainted fish and shrimp? Did that pork come from a pig that was force-fed wastewater? Any melamine added to those noodles?
Those are among some of the recent food scares here. Even drinking a glass of water instills fear: A recent government report found half the bottled watered in this city was counterfeit.
In defense of food quality, officials have argued that they are doing a lot to stamp out poor quality food. They insist that many of the recent events are isolated cases. The reporter continues:
I have another perspective. In a Communist country where corruption is rampant and the press appears only free to go after the little guy, I believe the deep systemic problems go unreported — that is until dogs and cats in the United States start dying from pet food made with Chinese-tainted ingredients and the world starts asking China some very difficult questions.
The bottom line is: If you’re worried about Chinese exports, rest assured the local stuff is without doubt many, many times worse.
The complete online article is Ordering food in Beijing makes me nervous.
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