Rice mills told to recall products, halt production
Source: Xinhua |
May 22, 2013, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THREE rice mills in central China's Hunan Province are being investigated after cadmium was found in their rice last week, local authorities said yesterday.
Three mills in Youxian County in Zhuzhou City were ordered to recall their products and suspend business operations, according to a statement released by the county government.
Samples of the rice stored in the mills have been sent to the provincial quality inspection agency for further checks.
The government said the mills were operating legally and all the tainted rice had been collected from local farmers.
A food safety inspection conducted in the first quarter showed that 44.4 percent of rice and rice products in the city of Guangzhou in south China's Guangdong Province contained excessive amounts of cadmium, a carcinogenic industrial chemical, according to a statement published by the Guangzhou Food and Drug Administration on May 16.
The administration revealed that eight samples of the 18 batches of rice and rice products tested positive for cadmium.
The tainted rice and rice products have been found in two university cafeterias and two restaurants, the food safety watchdog reported on May 17. The suppliers of five of the contaminated batches are from Youxian County.
Another three contaminated batches came from the city of Hengyang in Hunan and the city of Dongguan in Guangdong.
Experts believe that soil in some rice-producing areas has been contaminated by heavy metals, leading to industrial water pollution.
The cities of Zhuzhou and Hengyang are industrial cities along the Xiangjiang River.
Hou Yanlin, a soil scientist with the Ministry of Agriculture, said the government should establish a monitoring and early warning system for soil contamination in order to figure out how severe and widespread the pollution is.
Hou also called for expediting the creation of a soil pollution control law.
Gao Shengda, secretary-general of the China Environmental Remediation Industry Alliance, said China should develop targeted soil remediation techniques while bringing in advanced technology from overseas.
The experts warned that since some fertilizers and pesticides can also cause heavy metal pollution, the use of such chemicals should be reduced or avoided altogether.
Three mills in Youxian County in Zhuzhou City were ordered to recall their products and suspend business operations, according to a statement released by the county government.
Samples of the rice stored in the mills have been sent to the provincial quality inspection agency for further checks.
The government said the mills were operating legally and all the tainted rice had been collected from local farmers.
A food safety inspection conducted in the first quarter showed that 44.4 percent of rice and rice products in the city of Guangzhou in south China's Guangdong Province contained excessive amounts of cadmium, a carcinogenic industrial chemical, according to a statement published by the Guangzhou Food and Drug Administration on May 16.
The administration revealed that eight samples of the 18 batches of rice and rice products tested positive for cadmium.
The tainted rice and rice products have been found in two university cafeterias and two restaurants, the food safety watchdog reported on May 17. The suppliers of five of the contaminated batches are from Youxian County.
Another three contaminated batches came from the city of Hengyang in Hunan and the city of Dongguan in Guangdong.
Experts believe that soil in some rice-producing areas has been contaminated by heavy metals, leading to industrial water pollution.
The cities of Zhuzhou and Hengyang are industrial cities along the Xiangjiang River.
Hou Yanlin, a soil scientist with the Ministry of Agriculture, said the government should establish a monitoring and early warning system for soil contamination in order to figure out how severe and widespread the pollution is.
Hou also called for expediting the creation of a soil pollution control law.
Gao Shengda, secretary-general of the China Environmental Remediation Industry Alliance, said China should develop targeted soil remediation techniques while bringing in advanced technology from overseas.
The experts warned that since some fertilizers and pesticides can also cause heavy metal pollution, the use of such chemicals should be reduced or avoided altogether.
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