China-Meat recalls nothing compared to USA.
CHINA-PORK RECALL.
Although they have received little attention globally, reports this week that two companies (one listed in Hong Kong) have recalled pork products should serve as a reminder that the Chinese agricultural supply is no place to leave to chance.
The first instance occured earlier in the week, when the Anhui FDA announced that a batch of bacon produced by the Hefei Laweisi Food Co and sold in Hefei contained clenbuterol, a poisonous chemical that is fed to pigs to produce leaner meat. In the second case, the Anhui FDA announced that a batch of canned pork (of around 100 boxes) produced by the China Yurun Food Group (1068 HKEx - where share price rose 6.144% today) and sold in Fuyang also contained the chemical. Farmers in China feed pigs clenbuterol to reduce fat, but it is banned as a food additive because it can be fatal to humans.
A company official from Yurun said that "the contaminated pork came from a small butchery near Fuyang, but most of their pork comes from their own butcheries and is safe".
This comment should act as a red flag for anyone with knowledge of the supply chain. The comparison with Sanlu and melamine is too close for comfort. Just like Sanlu’s supply chain, farmers struggling to make a living are doing whatever they can to keep business with a big client or get a better price and survive. So when Yurun says it’s isolated the problem to a small butchery, the question should not be whether its butcheries are okay but whether the farmers they deal with are i) paid well enough for their meat so they don’t resort to using harmful chemicals to cheat the system, ii) knowledgeable about what is expected of them with regard to meat safety, iii) trained to and have the resources to produce a chemical free product that meets market expectations, and iv) monitored to ensure compliance with Yurun’s standards.
Is there any evidence this is happening? On Yurun’s website, the homepage greets readers with a slogan "Food Industry, Ethical Industry". It’s a nice slogan, but consumer and others want to see some evidence to support such claims.
