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China has recently been hit with a number of food and drug scandals. As I’ve written before, two of China’s primary causes of quality failures involve either (a) the country’s “saving habit” taken to an extreme or (b) a “counterfeiting culture” that leaves buyers wondering whether they have purchased the real thing. Going to keep this post short and list a brief description of the scandal, with a web link.

Case One: Nearly two tons of pesticide-tainted chives were destroyed in Qingdao.

Case Two: Researchers believe that as much as 1/10 of all cooking oil used in China is used oil.

Case Three: Vegetable sellers have been caught dyeing green beans to make them appear more fresh.

Case Four: Excessive heat may have caused vaccines to go bad, leading to the deaths of several children.

Case Five: Producers have been bleaching flour using quicklime, a harmful substance.

One of the greatest threats to consumers at home remains China’s food supply chain. America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set up offices in China, an unprecedented move, one that suggests authorities understand the risks that are present. And perhaps knowing that the next big food or drug scandal out of China is unavoidable, U.S. media have concentrated attention on problems in our supply chain (because if we have our own issues, then China doesn’t look quite as bad — get it?).

China’s case is more worrisome than America’s. One of the reasons that this is true is that vendors there are more willing to risk lives to save only the smallest amounts of money. Sellers in China also go out of their way to alter their merchandise, doing it often in a way that makes detection difficult. This second source of product quality failures involving the “counterfeit culture” is what concerns the most.

I look at the scandals in that list above and think most about cases “three” and “five,” and maybe “two.”

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