The regulations that govern the production, processing and export of food products in China fail to address important problems, even after a 2019 update intended to resolve US concerns. Heavy metal pollution of soils, overuse of pesticides, antibiotics and additives are all common in food products imported from China. The risk is especially high with fish, vegetables and fruits.
The FDA has no authority to conduct random inspections of producers in China as they do in the US. Inspections must be scheduled in advance, often months ahead of time. Manpower shortages allow inspection of only about 2% of Chinese sourced food products at ports of entry.
Compounding the problem, our country of origin labeling laws do not require such labeling once a food has been processed, so whole, fresh foods are safest. A product labeled as Organic is no guarantee of safety either. Some foods labeled organic from China are not.
Other countries that have a high number of shipments refused by the FDA include Mexico (primarily vegetables) and India (mainly spices and shellfish).
As imperfect as our own food safety systems may be, they are far better than in many other countries. Unfortunately, we consume a lot of the food that they produce. As always, buyer beware.
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