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Majority of Chinese 'Not Confident' in Food Safety

By Dan Flynn and Suzanna Schreck

Almost 70 percent of the Chinese public are not confident about the safety of the country's food supply, a recent national survey found.

Insight China and Tsinghua Media Survey Lab teamed up to conduct the survey, the results of which were released over the weekend and did not bode well for a government trying to boost consumer and trading partner confidence amidst a slew of high-profile food safety scandals, from melamine-tainted dairy to chemical-laced hot pot soups.

More than half of the survey's respondents said "government management and surveillance should be further improved to properly protect people from unsafe food," according to a report by China Daily.

Of the 24 kinds of food on the survey, ranging from produce to seafood to cooking oil, Chinese consumers were most worried about puffed and fried food, according to the survey.

"These products are especially popular with children and I am not sure about their health impacts," Wang Linhong, mother of a 4-year-old boy in Beijing, told China Daily.

Consumers also indicated that they remain concerned about pickled vegetables, fresh meat and meat products, canned food, instant food and dairy products.   Contaminated meat products, excessive pesticide residue and abuse of food additives topped respondents' lists of the top threats to food safety. 

Full post as published by Food Safety News on January 04, 2011 (boomark / email).