Steamed Corrugated -- A Peking Delicacy?
I must say, I got a real chuckle out of reading this story about street food in Beijing. According to the AP wire on CNN, "chopped cardboard, softened with an industrial chemical and flavored with fatty pork and powdered seasoning, is a main ingredient in batches of steamed buns sold in one Beijing neighborhood." Hmmm ... now, I'm not a big fan of cardboard in my dumplings, but in many countries, the practice of injecting cows with hormones so they produce artificially high amounts of milk is shunned (not to mention the growing of genetically modified crops that cannot reproduce on their own). But in the US, these practices are not the exception -- they're standard practice. Or need I bring up what goes into scrapple or the last time that a Philly street vendor washed his hands before handing you a soft pretzel? My point is this: next time you read another "scare story" like this one about China, I'd suggest thinking about the West's own practices.
- Jason Busch
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As consumers, we're aware of the domestic norms for food safety (and business ethics, for that matter). That awareness gives us a risk framework in which to make decisions. And it's how some take calculated risks in eating street vendors' food.
In the case of China, our relative ignorance leaves us without that risk framework. Is your cardboard story a common occurrence? An anomaly? What would Chinese citizens do?
My point is that we shouldn't consume any product without asking the tough questions about safety. And if recent media attention serves to provide answers, that's a good thing. You may find the media hyperbole distasteful (no pun intended), but how else will we gain awareness as consumers? And if change in Chinese suppliers' practices is appropriate, isn't media attention one of the most powerful tools we have?
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingn...
FYI:
Smear campaigns are not always instigated by who you think:
Remember that story about cardboard in China made buns? Yeah, turns out a Chinese news reporter may have faked that story, and he has since been arrested ... another execution coming?
"Reporter held for fake cardboard-in-buns story"
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSPEK18...