Chinese food quality/safety
Chinese food quality/safety
Those who have/are teaching in mainland China, how do you feel about the food quality/safety? We all know the air is a huge problem, but do you feel you can feed yourself/family food that fairly fresh and somewhat healthy and not full of chemicals? Where do you shop? How do you treat your food once you buy them? I know, I know, food in the States is probably full of pesticides, too. But we all know China seems to have more problems with this. Thank you for your responses.
Re: Chinese food quality/safety
You need to have an awareness but I feel that there are so many choices that quality and safety isn't any more of an issue than it is in North America. I live in Shanghai so I probably have more choices than those living in smaller centers.
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eion_padraig
- Posts: 408
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:18 pm
Re: Chinese food quality/safety
I'd actually say the food tends to be much more fresh than what I get back home. The chicken you're eating probably was slaughtered within a day or two of you eating it. The fish was probably alive right up until the time you selected it from the tank. You see live pigs arriving on trucks from the countryside pretty frequently. If you're looking for certification of organic food in China, you'll not have a lot of options and what you do have will cost a lot.
I'd a bit concerned about issues of freshwater fish, frog, and crayfish, so I limit how much I eat of those things based on heavy metal pollution in the water.
As for food poisoning, I've only had a major problem (lasted about a week) once and it was from eating food from a Western chain restaurant. I eat street food a couple times a week (jianbing being my favorite) and I eat at local restaurants frequently.
The trick to eating well in China is to go to the places where lots of Chinese people eat. Chinese folks don't bother with bad tasting food. If they get sick eating somewhere they don't go back.
I'd a bit concerned about issues of freshwater fish, frog, and crayfish, so I limit how much I eat of those things based on heavy metal pollution in the water.
As for food poisoning, I've only had a major problem (lasted about a week) once and it was from eating food from a Western chain restaurant. I eat street food a couple times a week (jianbing being my favorite) and I eat at local restaurants frequently.
The trick to eating well in China is to go to the places where lots of Chinese people eat. Chinese folks don't bother with bad tasting food. If they get sick eating somewhere they don't go back.
Response
There was that melamine scare a few years back where a baby formula company was adding melamine to boost the protein content of their formula. This was industrial grade not food grade.
The Chinese prefer their food as fresh as can be, when it comes to seafood its literally alive in tanks or baby pools when you get it (you fish the shrimp out of a baby pool with a basket into a bag). many wives go to the market early so they can see the butchering of pigs etc, and then buy their cuts. Even fowl are alive, be headed and defeathered on premises, especially in the markets and not stores.
As far as fruits and vegetables many of them are grown locally, and getting produce from farm to table isnt hard outside of the capital cities. Even the capital cities most of the produce wasnt or isnt imported. If China grows it, what you find in stores is local.
As far as eating out: 1) Go where the Chinese go, just follow them at lunch or look around for the most crowded. 2) Make sure its hot, when your food is cooked to order a high BTU wok makes most everything safe to eat.
You get sick when food is left out, you can find 3,4,6 RMB lunches that are basically a line with plates of food you put in a box or on a tray, you pay based on the size of the tray or weight. Early in the lunch hour your fine, later in the lunch hour its been sitting out and more importantly people have had a chance to get their bodily fluids on it. I just avoid Chinese buffets (this doesnt apply to the breakfast/brunch buffets you find at top end hotels).
The biggest risks are in packaged convenience foods, like deli stuff. This is how they make use of products that are pushing their shelf life. Eggs going bad tomorrow, they pull them off the shelf, boil them and make egg salad or sell them as whole shelled eggs. Citrus looking kind of old, they juice it.
The other issue that sets expats off is the lack of things like latex gloves, washing hands, etc. A high BTU wok solves most of it.
You are more likely to get sick at KFC or McDs than you are at a hawker stall or food court, which is no greater a risk than anywhere in the west. If you want absolute safe food, the best you will find on the planet, go to Japan.
The Chinese prefer their food as fresh as can be, when it comes to seafood its literally alive in tanks or baby pools when you get it (you fish the shrimp out of a baby pool with a basket into a bag). many wives go to the market early so they can see the butchering of pigs etc, and then buy their cuts. Even fowl are alive, be headed and defeathered on premises, especially in the markets and not stores.
As far as fruits and vegetables many of them are grown locally, and getting produce from farm to table isnt hard outside of the capital cities. Even the capital cities most of the produce wasnt or isnt imported. If China grows it, what you find in stores is local.
As far as eating out: 1) Go where the Chinese go, just follow them at lunch or look around for the most crowded. 2) Make sure its hot, when your food is cooked to order a high BTU wok makes most everything safe to eat.
You get sick when food is left out, you can find 3,4,6 RMB lunches that are basically a line with plates of food you put in a box or on a tray, you pay based on the size of the tray or weight. Early in the lunch hour your fine, later in the lunch hour its been sitting out and more importantly people have had a chance to get their bodily fluids on it. I just avoid Chinese buffets (this doesnt apply to the breakfast/brunch buffets you find at top end hotels).
The biggest risks are in packaged convenience foods, like deli stuff. This is how they make use of products that are pushing their shelf life. Eggs going bad tomorrow, they pull them off the shelf, boil them and make egg salad or sell them as whole shelled eggs. Citrus looking kind of old, they juice it.
The other issue that sets expats off is the lack of things like latex gloves, washing hands, etc. A high BTU wok solves most of it.
You are more likely to get sick at KFC or McDs than you are at a hawker stall or food court, which is no greater a risk than anywhere in the west. If you want absolute safe food, the best you will find on the planet, go to Japan.
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HereThereEverywhere
- Posts: 50
- Joined: Sat Feb 08, 2014 10:03 am
Re: Chinese food quality/safety
Fresher than most places, yes, but not safer. Soil, air, water in China are polluted and health and safety standards are not up to par with western ones. Ok, you can get a fresh fish, veggies, or chicken or whatever at the market, but what was that chicken fed? What kind of water was the fish in? Where is the field those veggies were grown in? I've seen people fishing in disgustingly polluted lakes, use water from rivers that were purple and stunk of sulfur to water veggies, seen chickens left to roam feeding from trash piles. It does not inspire confidence. oh, and the fake food...
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eion_padraig
- Posts: 408
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:18 pm
Re: Chinese food quality/safety
@HereThereEverywhere,
That's is definitely an issue in China. Although, it's also a similar issue throughout Southeast Asia from what I've seen in my travels.
That's is definitely an issue in China. Although, it's also a similar issue throughout Southeast Asia from what I've seen in my travels.
Re: Chinese food quality/safety
Hi am a Chinese from Beijing. Though I've not lived there for many years, I hear that some friends getting deliveries of organic veg/fruits weekly from organic farms outside the city. I supposed this kind of service is provided all over the country especially within the big cities.
I'd only buy meat/poultry/fish from supermarkets though.（carrefour and tesco etc. ) local butchers are known to inject water(some times chemicals) into meat to add 'freshness' and weight.
For fresh milk, I usually go for SANYUAN（三元） brand, the fresh ones (comes in cartons in chillers) had remained a good reputation over the years.
I'd only buy meat/poultry/fish from supermarkets though.（carrefour and tesco etc. ) local butchers are known to inject water(some times chemicals) into meat to add 'freshness' and weight.
For fresh milk, I usually go for SANYUAN（三元） brand, the fresh ones (comes in cartons in chillers) had remained a good reputation over the years.
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Artrageous
- Posts: 36
- Joined: Sun Oct 20, 2013 2:49 am
Re: Chinese food quality/safety
We lived in Shanghai for four years until two years ago. I was always worried about the food safety and pollution. We managed to eat well by only ever buying and using imported goods-- but be aware that you pay high prices for this luxury. I would say that we spent as much on our food budget as we do in New Zealand, so it is not cheap at all. Yes, as another poster said, you can buy cheap food from markets but the pollution is everywhere and there are no food safety standards at all. Some organic farms have sprung up, but again, it pays to be cautious and go visit them to see for yourself. Many people just don't worry about it at all, but it certainly concerned me and my family.