Apple-producing city acts to halt toxic bags
By Li Qian |
June 13, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE city government of a leading Chinese apple-producing area vowed yesterday to step up quality checks amid fears that some of its fruit might be tainted by chemicals banned in the city.
"We'll take tougher measures to ensure the quality of the apples," said a spokesman with the city government of Yantai in Shandong Province.
Yantai's two leading apple production areas, Qixia and Zhaoyuan, report a combined annual output of at least 600 million kilograms. The apples are sold nationwide and exported.
He said authorities will crack down on use of pesticide-coated paper bags, banned in the city but widely used to wrap up apples in Qixia and Zhaoyuan.
Manufacturers and dealers of toxic apple bags may face criminal punishment, the spokesman said, and officials will confiscate the manufacturing equipment and revoke sales licenses.
Apple orchard farmers may also be punished if they wrap apples in pesticide-coated bags, typically done to young apples so they ripen without blemishes caused by insects, city officials said.
Unsold apples will be tested for excessive residues. The Shandong Provincial Agricultural Bureau sent investigators to Qixia and Zhaoyuan to get samples.
According to Beijing News, apples have been tainted with toxic chemicals including Tuzet and arsenical fungicide.
The city official said Yantai's apples were safe, and tried to dispel fears.
"The apples passed the Ministry of Agriculture's quality checks in 2010 and 2011," he said. "We exported 217,000 tons of apples last year, and not a single quality dispute was reported."
But he said chemical wrappings were previously found at some farms. Local authorities first found wrappings with the chemicals in 2010, he said. "The city government issued new regulations to ban the wrappings and step up pesticide management," he said.
In March, Qixia authorities uncovered three cases and seized more than 2 million toxic apple bags worth 100,000 yuan (US$15,690), according to local news portal www.iqilu.com.
Apples produced in Shandong Province account for over half of all apples sold in Shanghai, according to Hou Yuxin, general manager of Shanghai's Punan Agricultural Wholesale Market.
Hou said apples must go through residue checks three to four times before being sold in Shanghai. Shanghai Fruit Supply and Delivery Co Ltd said apple orders have dropped since stories broke about the bags. It has sent Shandong apples for testing but no excessive pesticide residue had been reported.
"We'll take tougher measures to ensure the quality of the apples," said a spokesman with the city government of Yantai in Shandong Province.
Yantai's two leading apple production areas, Qixia and Zhaoyuan, report a combined annual output of at least 600 million kilograms. The apples are sold nationwide and exported.
He said authorities will crack down on use of pesticide-coated paper bags, banned in the city but widely used to wrap up apples in Qixia and Zhaoyuan.
Manufacturers and dealers of toxic apple bags may face criminal punishment, the spokesman said, and officials will confiscate the manufacturing equipment and revoke sales licenses.
Apple orchard farmers may also be punished if they wrap apples in pesticide-coated bags, typically done to young apples so they ripen without blemishes caused by insects, city officials said.
Unsold apples will be tested for excessive residues. The Shandong Provincial Agricultural Bureau sent investigators to Qixia and Zhaoyuan to get samples.
According to Beijing News, apples have been tainted with toxic chemicals including Tuzet and arsenical fungicide.
The city official said Yantai's apples were safe, and tried to dispel fears.
"The apples passed the Ministry of Agriculture's quality checks in 2010 and 2011," he said. "We exported 217,000 tons of apples last year, and not a single quality dispute was reported."
But he said chemical wrappings were previously found at some farms. Local authorities first found wrappings with the chemicals in 2010, he said. "The city government issued new regulations to ban the wrappings and step up pesticide management," he said.
In March, Qixia authorities uncovered three cases and seized more than 2 million toxic apple bags worth 100,000 yuan (US$15,690), according to local news portal www.iqilu.com.
Apples produced in Shandong Province account for over half of all apples sold in Shanghai, according to Hou Yuxin, general manager of Shanghai's Punan Agricultural Wholesale Market.
Hou said apples must go through residue checks three to four times before being sold in Shanghai. Shanghai Fruit Supply and Delivery Co Ltd said apple orders have dropped since stories broke about the bags. It has sent Shandong apples for testing but no excessive pesticide residue had been reported.
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