Cancer chemicals found in tofu sticks
By Wang Qingchu |
November 4, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
POLICE have detained 96 people after dried tofu sticks made in Shanghai and three provinces were found to contain industrial chemicals linked to cancer.
Some 273 underground factories were raided in Shanghai, Hunan, Fujian and Jiangxi provinces, and 43 tons of toxic food with a retail value of 22 million yuan (US$ 3.46 million) seized, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.
Rongalite, an industrial bleaching agent, was added to make dried tofu sticks more chewy, the report said.
Other chemicals, including borax - used in many detergents, were added in order to extend the shelf life of the tofu.
These industrial chemicals are banned in food production as the formaldehyde they release in the manufacturing process can cause headaches, fatigue, vomiting and, according to some studies, is a carcinogen.
An underground workshop making the toxic tofu sticks was raided by police in Changsha, the capital of Henan, in August.
From this, officers uncovered a massive network covering several provinces for the production and distribution of the toxic food.
In the two months that followed, police located hundreds of workshops producing the tainted tofu in Hunan City and the provinces of Jiangxi and Fujian.
In the joint police operation, 430 police officers were mobilized in Changsha alone.
The suspects detained are alleged to belong to 31 criminal gangs. In the factory raids, 76 pieces of machinery were confiscated.
This is the latest crackdown on safety violations in the food sector.
Since July, courts in China have jailed at least a dozen people - including one who received a suspended death sentence - for their roles in producing or selling pork tainted with toxic chemicals.
And police have detained 32 people for making and selling tons of swill oil - cooking oil ladled from drains, reprocessed and then resold.
Some 273 underground factories were raided in Shanghai, Hunan, Fujian and Jiangxi provinces, and 43 tons of toxic food with a retail value of 22 million yuan (US$ 3.46 million) seized, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.
Rongalite, an industrial bleaching agent, was added to make dried tofu sticks more chewy, the report said.
Other chemicals, including borax - used in many detergents, were added in order to extend the shelf life of the tofu.
These industrial chemicals are banned in food production as the formaldehyde they release in the manufacturing process can cause headaches, fatigue, vomiting and, according to some studies, is a carcinogen.
An underground workshop making the toxic tofu sticks was raided by police in Changsha, the capital of Henan, in August.
From this, officers uncovered a massive network covering several provinces for the production and distribution of the toxic food.
In the two months that followed, police located hundreds of workshops producing the tainted tofu in Hunan City and the provinces of Jiangxi and Fujian.
In the joint police operation, 430 police officers were mobilized in Changsha alone.
The suspects detained are alleged to belong to 31 criminal gangs. In the factory raids, 76 pieces of machinery were confiscated.
This is the latest crackdown on safety violations in the food sector.
Since July, courts in China have jailed at least a dozen people - including one who received a suspended death sentence - for their roles in producing or selling pork tainted with toxic chemicals.
And police have detained 32 people for making and selling tons of swill oil - cooking oil ladled from drains, reprocessed and then resold.
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