Authorities in China have destroyed nearly 2 tonnes of pesticide-tainted chives after nine people were poisoned by eating food containing the contaminated herb, state media said yesterday.
The tainted chives are the latest scare in China’s notoriously unsafe food industry following the discovery of pesticide-tainted string beans and cooking oil made from recycled food waste in recent weeks.
Inspections of more than 2,000 batches of chives at vegetable wholesale markets in Qingdao, Shandong Province, found 1.9 tonnes contained excessive levels of organic phosphorus, a highly toxic pesticide, the China Daily said.
Nine people complained of headaches, nausea and diarrhea after eating dishes containing the toxic herb at the same restaurant in the coastal city, the paper said, citing local health authorities.
The victims are seeking compensation from the food vendor, it said.
“I bought a box of fried eggs with chives for three yuan [US$0.40] last Wednesday. I was not thinking about the chives at all. Instead I wondered if I was having some heart problems,” a woman was quoted as saying.
Local authorities vowed to improve supervision and inspection of chives sold in Qingdao.
Last month, the food safety watchdog issued a yearly plan calling on all levels of government to step up inspections at every link in the food production chain, including the edible oil and dairy industries.
The order for inspections came after press reports said up to one-tenth of Chinese cooking oil supplies were illegally made from recycled food waste containing cancer-causing agents.
China has launched high-profile crackdowns in the past, but problems with product quality continue to emerge.
In 2008, the nation’s dairy sector was rocked by a tainted milk scandal that the government said resulted in the deaths of six babies and made 300,000 others ill.
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