And by "making progress" I'm talking about progressing to 1920 standards in the West. It's nice to think that the FDA and other food safety organizations around the world rarely took notice of the additives and that it took sickness of 50,000+ in China plus a few deaths for everyone to really step up the safety standards.
Substances commonly used as industrial dyes, insecticides and drain cleaners were included on a list of illegal food additives China released Monday as part of a monthslong government crackdown aimed at improving the country's shoddy food safety record.
Among the 17 banned substances was boric acid, commonly used as an insecticide, which is mixed with noodles and meatballs to increase elasticity, a statement posted on the Ministry of Health Web site said. Also forbidden was industrial formaldehyde and lye, used in making soap and drain cleaner and added to water used to soak some types of dried seafood to make the products appear fresher and bigger.
A scandal over melamine-tainted infant formula, which likely killed six babies and sickened 294,000 others earlier this year, prompted the government food safety campaign last week.
The list of banned substances was released by a government committee tasked with weeding out the practice of augmenting food products with nonfood additives. Local authorities were also warned to watch out for another 10 food additives that are often used excessively.
"This list provides clues for relevant departments as they carry out this campaign," said the statement, adding that the list was not comprehensive.
