22 Tons of Fake Beef Seized in China

[JumpyTheFrog]

First there was the pet "food" killing American pets. Then there was the the rice being diluted with plastic "rice." Now there is fake beef being sold in China, too. (I think there was also baby "formula" killing babies a while back.)

 

The linked article says the "beef" turned out to actually be pork treated with wax and industrial salts to make it look like beef. This is in addition to the rat, fox, and mink people were already selling at markets as something else.

 

I already avoid all food from China. This just reinforces it for me. I also only buy olive oil from California, since criminals are already known to sell fake olive oil in large amounts. I read once that only 10% of olive oil from California is fake, compared to about half from Europe and Africa. Fortunately, my local grocery store has their own brand of olive oil from California. Sure, it's not as cheap as the gallon sizes available in other brands, but I'm not paying for canola oil disguised as olive oil.

 

I hope nobody ever gets the idea to sell fake coconut oil.

[Cindy in FL.]

I second RoyRogers and raise her another Gross!

[TammyinTN]

:svengo:

[JumpyTheFrog]

Here's another article about it from The Guardian. The fox, rat, and mink were being sold as mutton. The police in one province have put out a guide on a Chinese blog about how to tell real mutton and fake mutton apart.

[jennynd]

I also read something about fake honey from China.. and fake eggs,,,.. just ew......

 

 

[HappyGrace]

Also I know there was a "sting" (no pun intended-lol) on honey from China recently-massive amounts from China being sent through other countries so as not to be labeled "made in China". It was treated w/ a chemical not allowed in the US, and had sugar and something else added to get rid of the tainted smell.

 

We try to avoid foods from China too but they are on to it and routing things through other countries to avoid the label!

 

The beef thing is disgusting :(

[JumpyTheFrog]

Also I know there was a "sting" (no pun intended-lol) on honey from China recently-massive amounts from China being sent through other countries so as not to be labeled "made in China". 

 

Was the honey labeled as being made in some other country?

 

Now I wonder if the American chicken processed in China will be labeled as "made in USA." I don't see how it can be cheaper to make chicken nuggets and whatnot in China. How are we supposed to trust that it's cheaper to keep the raw meat properly chilled all the way across the Pacific Ocean than to make chicken nuggets here?

 

If this kind of garbage continues, many of us will have little choice but to buy as much as possible right from the farmers.

[PrincessMommy]

How do you know if your beef comes from China?   I buy my beef by the 1/2 cow from a friend, and haven't had to buy from the local store in ages. I haven't looked at the packaging of beef in a long time.

[countrygal]

Eww... there are some baby bisuit "mum mum" I think was the brand. They are made in China, so I couldn't bring myself to buy them. They looked too much like Styrofoam, so I thought they just might be. I think the farmers who put the chemicals in the milk made infant formula were executed. Don't quote me on that though. We raise our own beef.

[nmoira]

I thought this was old news, but I guess not. Ugggh.

 

Here's a video showing how to do it.

 

How to turn pork meat into beef – video

 

http://gu.com/p/3ftm5

[nmoira]

I thought I heard they are trying to (or have) passed regulations in the US where the packaging on meat has to show exactly where it came from.

The chicken is question would be grown in the US and processed in China, thereby getting around origin labeling. Of course, without US inspectors there (or many here for that matter).... The whole thing sickens me.

 

Chicken is Killing the Planet

http://www.salon.com/2013/09/16/chicken_is_killing_the_planet/

[JumpyTheFrog]

I don't think we import a lot of meat from China (why would we have to).

We don't need to import any frozen broccoli from China, but we do. I can understand importing things like pineapples, but broccoli?

[JumpyTheFrog]

I forgot to add that the US is a net importer of food. More than half our food is grown elsewhere.

[TechWife]

The largest pork producer in the US (Smithfield) will be sold to a Chinese pork producer tomorrow. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304213904579095061880118346.html

 

 

[mommaduck]

Time to become vegetarians and buy local. Praying the elderly man in our neighbourhood kills a good sized deer this week (he's offered to share).

[AMJ]

I misread the title and wondered why people were seizing wax produce.  Yeah, it went out with the early 70's, but isn't seizing it a bit harsh?

 

 

Oh, beef, not beets.  Ewww....

 

[Tammyla]

That is so disturbing and disgusting.

 

And, I missed the rice / plastic story; thank you, we do eat a lot of rice here.

 

 

I'm the nutty woman who returns anything with a smile and a complaint, if I miss that it was from or made in China.  I go out of my way to be nice, but to let customer service know why I'm returning something, and of course I do try to notice where things are made before purchasing.

[Excelsior! Academy]

How horrible! I just think of the many people who have religious objections to eating pork.

[HappyGrace]

These things are a big reason why we buy organic. Not that the organic industry is perfect (especially with big business getting into it so much :() but at least it's a little better due to the more rigid standards.

[PrincessMommy]

The largest pork producer in the US (Smithfield) will be sold to a Chinese pork producer tomorrow. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304213904579095061880118346.html

 

Wow... just wow.  So disappointing. 

[journey00]

I forgot to add that the US is a net importer of food. More than half our food is grown elsewhere.

Say what?? Why, how? We are farmers and raise our own beef. I cannot fathom this...it really blows my mind. I do not even eat chinese food anymore and I never eat chicken in restaurants. This is just...gross.

[journey00]

The largest pork producer in the US (Smithfield) will be sold to a Chinese pork producer tomorrow. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304213904579095061880118346.html

This makes me sad.:(

[Um_2_4]

DH traveled to china for business several years ago and brought back some "flavored" honey, supposedly the bees hives were in those crop areas so the honey had a taste of that crop. (We get that from a farm here: orange, clover, sage, eucalyptus etc.). 

Well we use a lot of honey and I just never got around to using that batch. It was stored in the same place (indoors storage closet) and our other honey storage was fine (I've never had honey "go bad" because I only buy 100% pure, unfiltered, raw. I buy a huge quantity every few years), but the Chinese "honey" turned to alcohol after 6 months. I have no idea what they added to it to turn to that, but we opened the jar because I noticed it looked "off" and the smell was overpowering. Horrible.

Since then, nope, no way. Even a couple other countries on that list I won't buy packaged food from. Fresh produce that I can wash, not processed in any way ok, canned/bagged/boxed nope.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Now I'm glad that I bought that 1/4 cow direct from a farm here.  I have a tab open for a farm that sells pork. . . 

[nmoira]

Not that I think the Chinese "honey" was genuine, but real honey is hygroscopic and can ferment if the moisture content raises sufficiently.

[Um_2_4]

Not that I think the Chinese "honey" was genuine, but real honey is hygroscopic and can ferment if the moisture content raises sufficiently.

 

Well, I don't know then, they must have diluted it or something because I have stored 5 pound jugs of honey from a local farm for 2-3 years and NEVER had a problem. Or the honey I get is just really that good of quality.

[JumpyTheFrog]

Quotes from a 2005 article about being a net importer of food:

 

 

 

Figures released at the end of 2004 by the Department of Agriculture showed that in 2005, for the first time in more than 50 years, the U.S. will have no trade surplus in food. In 2001, the U.S. had a $13.6 billion agricultural trade surplus. In 2004, that surplus was zero, and 2005 will likely see the U.S. become a net food importer.

 

It sounds like the "net importer" of food refers to the dollar amount of food imported versus exported. That might be separate from what percent of actual food is imported. I'll have to look more to see if I can find out about this.

 

 

 

The Department also notes that imports of beef, a traditionally strong American product, will rise to 47 percent of the U.S. beef market.

 

 

[nmoira]

Well, I don't know then, they must have diluted it or something because I have stored 5 pound jugs of honey from a local farm for 2-3 years and NEVER had a problem. Or the honey I get is just really that good of quality.

Oh, I doubt it was pure, if honey at all. The bit about fermentation was more as a point of interest than anything. :)

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

Here is more about the honey laundering.

 

I have been buying my honey local for years now, for the supposed seasonal allergy benefits.  I'm glad now.

[JumpyTheFrog]

More interesting quotes:

 

 

In the mid-1990s, supporters of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) sold the deals to U.S. farmers and ranchers as the new path to economic success – hyping the agreements’ prospects for increasing exports.1 U.S. food exports have increased, but so have food imports. In 2012, the total volume of U.S. food exports stood only 1 percent higher than in 1995, the year that the WTO took effect. In contrast, imports of food into the United States in 2012 skyrocketed 97 percent above the 1995 level that marked the dawn of the WTO era.2 

 

So (dollar-wise), we have doubled the amount of food imported in the US since 1995. 

 

 

In 2012, the volume of U.S. food exports was only 1 percent higher than in 1995, the year the WTO took effect. In contrast, U.S. food imports in 2012 were 97 percent higher than in 1995.6 The much greater rise in imports over exports is even more notable given the historically high international food prices since 2007, which would be expected to dampen the volume of U.S. food imports. Without this price effect, the volume of U.S. food imports would likely be even higher today. 

 

The volume of food imported is up dramatically.

 

 

The average annual U.S. trade deficit in agricultural goods with Canada and Mexico in the five years before NAFTA nearly tripled (a 174 percent increase) in the five years after the deal took effect.

 

 

As another example, while total U.S. vegetable imports from Canada and Mexico have more than tripled (a 237 percent increase) under NAFTA,

 

 

U.S. corn is, however, an exception – U.S. corn exports to Mexico in the three years after NAFTA soared 377 percent above the level in the three years before the deal. In 2012, the United States exported 38 times as much corn to Mexico as before NAFTA.13 But when the flood of U.S. corn in Mexico caused corn prices to plummet 66 percent for Mexican farmers, 2.5 million farmers and agricultural workers in Mexico lost their livelihoods, many of whom resorted to migration.14 In NAFTA’s first seven years, the annual number of people emigrating from Mexico to the United States more than doubled.15 

 

It sounds like NAFTA has been a disaster in terms of agriculture. The US lost about 20% of small farmers as a result. We're importing a lot more food than before, stuff we can grow and give our people jobs (plus not having to worry about what pesticides and herbicides are allowed to be used in Mexico). Our increase in corn exports damaged the Mexican economy so much that many of them moved here, causing other problems.

 

 

[Jane in NC]

 

It sounds like NAFTA has been a disaster in terms of agriculture. The US lost about 20% of small farmers as a result. We're importing a lot more food than before, stuff we can grow and give our people jobs (plus not having to worry about what pesticides and herbicides are allowed to be used in Mexico). Our increase in corn exports damaged the Mexican economy so much that many of them moved here, causing other problems.

 

Many US farmers are growing corn for ethanol--not for food.

 

There is good news though: small farms are making a comeback! 

 

Jane (who is on a first name basis with her farmers, fishmongers and butcher)

 

[LibraryLover]

TJ's brand of frozen broc is from China.  Now I am wondering if the TJ's frozen vericot/haricot beans are really from France.

[HappyGrace]

:iagree: My friend and I are a bit suspicious about Trader Joe's and how they can sell so cheaply (especially organic.)

 

I do buy there, but I always kind of wonder...

[JumpyTheFrog]

I've looked at the grass-fed ground beef package at Trader Joe's a few times. It says it's from American, Australian, and Chilean (?) beef. Great! I always wanted to eat ground meat from hundreds of cows on three continents. No chance for food poisoning there! Not! So glad I get my beef from the farmer, where it all comes from one cow.

 

Between the pink slime and all the beef recalls, I won't buy ground meat from the store anymore. We bought a meat grinder attachment for our mixer. If we want ground turkey or chicken, we grind it ourselves.