Chinese Premier Li Qiang Orders Stronger Food Safety Measures Amid Fallout Over 'Carcinogenic Cabbage'

[Financial News] As public anxiety over food safety has grown in China amid the so-called "formaldehyde-tainted cabbage" scandal, Premier Li Qiang of the State Council of the People's Republic of China has personally ordered tighter, comprehensive safety management.
According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, Li stressed during a recent visit to edible oil producers in Jilin Province that "supervision must be strengthened across the entire process, from farm to table." Although he did not directly mention the controversy, the remarks drew attention because they came shortly after authorities uncovered the unauthorized use of carcinogenic formaldehyde to keep cabbage fresh in parts of Hebei Province.
Chinese authorities have instructed local governments to carry out special inspections of fresh agricultural products, including cabbage, and to crack down hard on the illegal use of preservatives.
Meanwhile, tests on 82 products currently distributed in South Korea — including Chinese Baechu-kimchi, cabbage, and salted cabbage — reportedly found no formaldehyde in any of them. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said the results came from inspections of all Chinese-manufactured packaged products on the domestic market, including 50 Baechu-kimchi products, 29 cabbage products, and three salted cabbage products.
The ministry also explained that, through the Korea Food Safety Management Certification Institute in China, it investigated the suppliers of raw cabbage used by all Baechu-kimchi manufacturers exporting to South Korea — 55 HACCP-certified facilities — and confirmed that none of them used cabbage from Hebei Province.
[email protected] Hong Chaewan Reporter