Cabbage sellers coating product with formaldehyde in China
by The Canadian Press
Dozens of wholesale vegetable dealers in Shandong province's Qingzhou city were caught
BEIJING—Cabbage sellers in China have been caught spritzing their product with formaldehyde to keep it fresh during long trips to market in the country’s latest food safety scandal.
China’s food industry and regulatory agencies have been scrambling to clean up their reputations following a series of serious problems including melamine-tainted milk and pork laced with a banned growth promoter.
The official Xinhua News Agency said dozens of wholesale vegetable dealers in Shandong province’s Qingzhou city were caught selling cabbage sprayed with formaldehyde.
China’s wholesale vegetable dealers are not required to use refrigerated trucks for produce, and few can afford them.
In 2008, China’s Ministry of Health published a list of illegal food additives that included formaldehyde. The chemical has also been reportedly used to soak some dried seafood to make it appear more fresh and plump.
Formaldehyde can irritate the skin, cause breathing and digestive problems and is a known carcinogen.
