The world's biggest producer turns out to be a hotbed of counterfeits and fake food items that poses a threat to public health.
Many products made from China are known to be affordable. However, the downside of it is getting poor quality products. Unfortunately, the same can be said with several food items that the country produces.
According to Red Points, China is known to be the primary production and consumption point of counterfeit items globally, including its food sector.
Here are some of the fake food items from China that you need to be aware of:
1. Milk
According to Global Times, the fake milk issue emerged last year when parents of five children in Chenzhou came forward after their kids suffered from severe weight loss, skull deformities, and several other diseases upon consuming a protein powder called Beianmin.
2. Rice Noodles
Almost 50 factories in Dongguan City were closed down for producing rice noodles made from moldy and rotten grains, which are usually used as animal feed.
The factories were said to produce 500,000 kilograms of counterfeited rice noodles per day before they were closed.
3. Prawns
In China, gelatin is injected into prawns for them to look plump and fresh. Prawn vendors were able to profit an additional 20-30 percent from the extra weight.
4. Duck Blood
Inedible dye and materials used for printing are mixed with used chicken blood as a stand-in for duck blood. Other vendors mix deadly chemicals such as formaldehyde with much cheaper pig blood and pass this as duck blood.
5. Wine
This is usually done by refilling empty expensive wine bottles with very low-grade alcohol. Over 40,000 bottles of counterfeited wine worth more than $32 million were found in a raid that happened in China.
6. Walnuts
With the increase in demand and the price, walnut retailers found a way to make fake ones to be sold in the market. They take empty walnut shells, fill it with concrete and paper then gluing it together.
7. Rice
In Guangdong province, fake rice is made from tiny pieces of rolled-up paper. Another version of fake rice is manufactured from potatoes and plastic.
8. Eggs
Another widespread scandal is fake eggs in China. The egg white is created from resin, starch, coagulant, and pigments, while the egg yolk is made from a different mix of resin and pigments.
Finally, the fake eggshell is made from an amalgamate of paraffin wax, gypsum powder, and calcium carbonate.
9. Meat
Shockingly, meat such as chicken, duck, pork, and especially beef is made to look like the real thing, but they use rat meat instead.
Additionally, rat meat is prepared in an extremely unsanitary way. Vendors also use chemicals to process the meat and increase its weight.
10. Steam Buns
Some Chinese street vendors would soak cardboard in industrial chemicals until it softens to make fake steam buns.
Afterward, this softened cardboard is chopped and mixed with pork fat and flavored powder. The finished mixture is stuffed in the dough to form a bun and then steamed.
