Chinese food safety enters the Olympic ring

Chinese food safety has taken a new turn, with the US delegation planning to bring its own food for athletes to the Beijing Olympics. BBC 21/02/08

China’s battle against unsafe products

China has taken important steps toward addressing product quality and safety problems. China’s reputation has been damage of late as a manufacturer of reliable goods. Herald Tribute 06/01/08

China food safety

Food safety remains a major concern for consumers and manufacturers as fake and substandard food are on the increase. China regulators closed more than 47,000 food factories that were operating illegally. China producers and suppliers are increasingly in the spotlight. NYTimes 06/12/07

US to introduce food scoring system

A new food nutrition-value scoring system will be introduced to US grocery stores in 2008. The system will assign scores to foods by considering saturated fat, fiber content, sugar and nutrients. Yahoo!/Reuters

Food labeling

A lot has been made of food labeling in the industry. However a recent survey from the University of Vermont indicates food labeling might not be the best way to educate people.

 Some quotes:

• “Two-thirds of the participants were unable to identify the number of calories they should consume in a day.”

• “Forty-four to 57 percent of the whole sample said they were not likely to use restaurant food caloric information if it was provided.”

Soy sauce scare

Vietnam is still reeling from the latest soy sauce scare and finger pointing is likely to continue for some time.

A report by Tuoi Tre Newspaper, highlighted that HCM City health officials found 3-MCPD in samples tested in 2001. Samples ranged from 23 to 6,090 times over the safety level.

In a bizarre turn of events, one local newspaper blamed consumer preferences as the main culprit, saying companies are forced to comply with consumer demands.

Pet food scare

The pet food recall is currently making waves around the globe. The US Food and Drug Administration has received more than 14,000 reports of pet illness, but the recall has taken on a global proportion.

Chinese suppliers and melamine (an industrial chemical) are currently being identified as the big culprits.