Couple of stories from Shanghai Daily today that might be of interest...

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article ... 397330.htm

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article ... 397332.htm

Thank you for sharing.

Only surprise is that they put it in the paper. The pesticide one really bothers me. I doubt the government can make a big deal about it as they can't fix it quickly. They probably will put it on the slow burner to be improved eventually while trying to avoid publicity. It kind of takes the fun out of eating.

I saw a rat at Gubei Carrefour a few weeks ago - it ran right across the aisle in front of me and startled me. A store worker came up to me and said "no worry - lot of them in the store - it's ok" which made me feel much better......

tnmom wrote:I saw a rat at Gubei Carrefour a few weeks ago - it ran right across the aisle in front of me and startled me. A store worker came up to me and said "no worry - lot of them in the store - it's ok" which made me feel much better......

Scary but not surprising. Agree with dsugg, the surprise is that this information made it into the newspaper. I wonder if it was also published in the local papers.

You must assume that the food in China contains harmful substances or otherwise benign substances at such high levels they become harmful. If this is still a problem in the EU and US, where regulators have considerable powers and are fairly proactive, where consumers are informed and empowered, and where lawyers and the press are opportunistic and compensated for bringing such incidents to light, I shudder to think about the food and agriculture industry in this country.

ShanghaiDaily.com wrote:Officials said a serious rat problem usually indicates poor management awareness and incorrect operations.

The point being that the "cheaper-the-better" solutions to everything and the "it's ok" mentality isn't good enough??

ShanghaiDaily.com wrote:So far, 19 outlets of four supermarket chains have been inspected, and none met cleanliness requirements.

The highest "rat index" reading was 41.3 percent at the Jiangwan outlet of Hualian GMS.

"The final result will be announced after the inspection is finished, and we will organize training for the supermarkets found to have severe problems," said Peng Guilan, an official with the committee. "We can also impose fines ranging from 2,000 yuan (US$293) to 5,000 yuan."

What should be dome was close the freakin stores until they fixed the issues.
2,000~5,000 Yuan fine… That should be per day!

Rat sighting at Thumbs Plaza Carrefour a few days ago ! OMG, this rat was huge. I too was startled when it made a dash from the fruit and vege section to the steamed buns/dumplings area. I went to inform the lady at that section and she just shrugged her shoulders! TIC

Oh, it just returned to my mind:

If you buy plastic containers, boxes etc. please be all very careful.

I bought a plastic dish rack at Trust Mart. There was only one left on the highest shelf. Ok, no problem for me to get it.
Jeez, suddenly it was raining mice poo .....
Disgusting, at home I had to sanitise the dish rack AND me ...

Maxeen wrote:Rat sighting at Thumbs Plaza Carrefour a few days ago ! OMG, this rat was huge. I too was startled when it made a dash from the fruit and vege section to the steamed buns/dumplings area. I went to inform the lady at that section and she just shrugged her shoulders! TIC

You must have wandered off into the 'live food' section.