Chinese cuisine is respected all over the world and there are some parts of China that are especially popular because of the beautiful traditional meals prepared there. Unfortunately, the food industry in China is looking for a quick profit and the result is low-quality BBC.
It seems that companies from the rest of the world have realized that and they are not practicing food imports from this country.
In the last three decades, China has become famous because of the many toxic products and fake food items. Although it is true that this type of food cannot be found in markets in the United States, websites like Amazon.com and eBay.com provide access to food that can be shipped wherever the client wants.
This is the reason why we have created a list of ten examples of counterfeit food products made in China. So, have this list in mind whenever you are tempted to buy food from China over the Internet.
1. Imitation Eggs
There are numerous websites from China that provide how-to videos on the methods needed to make and sell imitation eggs. They claim that individuals can earn up to 70 USD a day from this activity.
The process involves the use of chemicals like Potassium Alum, Alginic Acid, Calcium Chloride, Gelatin, artificial color, and water. On top of that, calcium carbonate is used in the creation of eggshells. Those who consume these eggs risk the occurrence of dementia and memory loss.
Baba Mail
2. Cement-stuffed walnuts
Three years ago, a man bought shelled walnuts produced in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou. He found pieces of broken concrete inside. This was not some kind of accident during the production process. The cement was carefully coated with paper to absorb the sound in case the walnut is shaken. The manufacturer wanted to make a profit by gaining weight and of course by selling fake walnuts. You can find more images on the source link below.
Baba Mail
3. Preparing beef out of pork
Pork is one of the cheapest meats in China and this is the reason why some fast food and regular restaurants use it instead of beef. What is wrong is that they use some chemicals to make pork look like beef. By adding beef extract and marinating the meat with a glazing agent for 2 hours, they get meat that looks almost the same as beef.
Many experts have confirmed that this toxic fake food can lead to deformity, poisoning, and cancer in the long run.
Source
4. Fake green-peas
Ten years ago, a newspaper report of fake peas in the Chinese Hunan province emerged. They claimed that these peas could not be softened even after long boiling and they gave the water a very bright green color. The manufacturer earned a fortune from this fake product because the scam was discovered three years after they opened the factory. In order to produce these fake peas, they’ve used soybeans and snow peas mixed with sodium metabisulfite (a substance used for bleaching) and green dye. The dye used in the fake peas was banned a long time ago because it was associated with cancer.
Source
According to Sang Liwei, a food safety expert from Beijing, the media in China didn’t pet close attention to this problem even though the toxic and dangerous fake green peas were found in both Guangdong and Hunan.
Officials in China talk about safety incidents related to food only when someone dies as a direct result of it.
Sang Liwei says that this is wrong because the consumption of this food can have long-term negative effects.
5. Instant Baby formula
Back in 2004, more than 40 people were charged for the production of fake instant baby formula. This formula resulted in the death of dozens of children in the city of Fuyang, China, and every media report about this horrific accident. This food had only a limited number of nutrients and it was mostly made of chalk, which leads to the development of big head disease in children.
6. Table salt which is actually an industrial salt
Industrial salt is banned for human consumption all over the world. However, this salt is way cheaper. The difference in price made 12 people from China in the past 13 years selling more than 750 tons of this salt as table salt. According to many studies, industrial salt can lead to physical and mental problems like reproductive system disorders and hypothyroid issues.
7. Black pepper which is actually mud
A market owner from the Chinese province of Guangdong gathered local mud and offered it as black pepper. In addition, they have sold flour as white pepper. When he was accused of wrongdoing, he claimed that these items won’t harm people.
As previously mentioned, fake food in China is not thoroughly investigated until they result in someone’s death it makes us wonder how many fake foods are freely sold in China.
8. Fake Sweet Potato Noodles
A factory based in the city of Zhongshan in China, produced about 5.5 tons of fake noodles before it was exposed. About four years ago, people noticed that their favorite sweet potato noodles had a really weird taste.
After lab analysis, it was revealed that these noodles were made of corn and contained paraffin wax and industrial ink in order to get a beautiful pink color.
9. Fake Ginseng
Ginseng root is one of the most respected natural remedies used in China as a tonic for more than 3 millennia. BON TV reported that the prices of ginseng are constantly going up and many ginseng sellers started to look for alternative solutions.
Some of them decided to boil ginseng roots in sugar in order to increase their weight and make more profit.
According to Wei Feng, a Chinese expert in the field of medicine working for the National Institute for Food and Drug Control, this practice is dangerous and it is not only because the sellers are scamming people. By sugar-boiling ginseng roots, they are destroying almost all the medicinal values of this plant. Natural ginseng comes with 20% sugar while fake ginseng has 70% sugar. While it is true that this product might not lead to death, it is also true that the health benefits are almost non-existent.
10. Fake Rice
Large quantities of fake rice have been confiscated in China and some sources claim that this fake rice is mostly made from potatoes in combination with a resin made of synthetic materials. Similar to fake peas, this rice could not be softened after long boiling. There is evidence that this fake rice can lead to cancer if it is consumed for a long period of time.
The main reason why they’ve made this rice is a fast profit. They even tried to make the rice look like the most popular type of rice in China – Wuchang.
Watch this video for the complete report about this scam:
Via IPI
