Government officials in southern China sought to calm the public about toxic substances menacing the region’s main food staple, rice,The city of Guangzhou said that nearly half the rice tested at restaurants this year held excessive cadmium, a heavy metal that can cause cancer.
The Food and Drug Administration of Guangzhou, revealed last week that 8 out of 18 samples of rice tested from canteens and restaurants in the first three months of this year had cadmium levels surpassing national limits.
The administration tried to explain on its Web site two days later that the finding used a small, skewed sample and was not representative. On the Internet, many citizens accused the government of concealing the risks from unsafe food to avoid political damage.
Officials said the tainted rice came from the adjacent Hunan Province, an area where expanding factories, smelters and mines jostle with paddy fields. Cadmium is used in coatings and batteries for cellphones, cameras and computers — products that China makes in abundance. Cadmium can harms the liver, the kidneys and the respiratory tract, and can dangerously weaken bones. It has also beenwhich sickened more than 300,000 children..
Guangdong Province officials have sought to convince residents that they are stopping the trade in any toxic rice. After the public outcry, the Guangzhou Food and Drug Administration disclosed the names of the restaurants and canteens found to have rice with excessive cadmium. One seafood restaurant served rice with an average 0.4 milligrams of cadmium per kilogram, double the maximum permitted by government standards.
The administration said that tests at Guangzhou’s major shopping chains, where most residents buy their food, did not find any cases of rice with cadmium exceeding the official limit, a city newspaper, the Yangcheng Evening News, reported on Wednesday.
Inspectors in Shunde, a city near Guangzhou, also told local news outlets that they had uncovered nine cases of “cadmium rice.” Police in You County, in Hunan Province, also led inspections to track down errant suppliers and mills and to recall any suspect batches.
Nervousness among officials about the anger over tainted food extends to the top of the Chinese government. Prime Minister Li Keqiang has vowed to strengthen government scrutiny to stamp out food safety hazards,
Government officials in southern China sought to calm the public about toxic substances menacing the region’s main food staple, rice,The city of Guangzhou said that nearly half the rice tested at restaurants this year held excessive cadmium, a heavy metal that can cause cancer.
The Food and Drug Administration of Guangzhou, revealed last week that 8 out of 18 samples of rice tested from canteens and restaurants in the first three months of this year had cadmium levels surpassing national limits.
The administration tried to explain on its Web site two days later that the finding used a small, skewed sample and was not representative. On the Internet, many citizens accused the government of concealing the risks from unsafe food to avoid political damage.
Officials said the tainted rice came from the adjacent Hunan Province, an area where expanding factories, smelters and mines jostle with paddy fields. Cadmium is used in coatings and batteries for cellphones, cameras and computers — products that China makes in abundance. Cadmium can harms the liver, the kidneys and the respiratory tract, and can dangerously weaken bones. It has also beenwhich sickened more than 300,000 children..
Guangdong Province officials have sought to convince residents that they are stopping the trade in any toxic rice. After the public outcry, the Guangzhou Food and Drug Administration disclosed the names of the restaurants and canteens found to have rice with excessive cadmium. One seafood restaurant served rice with an average 0.4 milligrams of cadmium per kilogram, double the maximum permitted by government standards.
The administration said that tests at Guangzhou’s major shopping chains, where most residents buy their food, did not find any cases of rice with cadmium exceeding the official limit, a city newspaper, the Yangcheng Evening News, reported on Wednesday.
Inspectors in Shunde, a city near Guangzhou, also told local news outlets that they had uncovered nine cases of “cadmium rice.” Police in You County, in Hunan Province, also led inspections to track down errant suppliers and mills and to recall any suspect batches.
Nervousness among officials about the anger over tainted food extends to the top of the Chinese government. Prime Minister Li Keqiang has vowed to strengthen government scrutiny to stamp out food safety hazards,
Japan has also had a problem with cadmium in there rice in the past.
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