All about China

In my recent travels to Russia, one of the traders mentioned that Chinese apples were being withheld from some export markets so there would be some supply available for the Olympics later this year. China's rise as an economic power is well documented, and this report from USDA FAS brings a lot of context to the changing economy, the rise of foodservice and the growing middle class. From the 41-page report, about food safety and traceability:

More than 95 percent of Chinese consumers rank food safety as a “very important” in shaping their food purchasing behavior. Food safety has become a major public concern here over the past few years as a number of food product and contamination cases have surfaced in the media. These range from parasite-infected snails, to antibiotic residue in fish, to poultry and egg contamination with Sudan Red dye –reportedly fed to chickens so they would produce red egg yolks. These and other health scares have brought greater scrutiny and tighter controls on food products and food safety. Reportedly, 621 food production licenses of 564 producers were revoked in an effort to improve food safety in 2007. In September 2007, the government launched a national campaign to improve food safety in the catering sector, focused on school dining hall and small restaurant inspections in particular. The website www.51trace.org was created to trace food product origin as well as provide food safety alerts and updates. Food product health and safety scares have served to create strengthened consumer awareness about food safety, and food origin, which could potentially be a boon for some food exporters since imported food and beverages, including wine, from the United States generally enjoy a good reputation for meeting high quality and product safety standards. However, given the new levels of awareness and product perception on the part of the consumer, new market rules continue to evolve. While there has been some debate in the international press about food safety measures for the Olympic Games, the government here has implemented a strict tracking system designed to secure the safety of ingredients during the production of food supplies. In addition, procedures require samples of all food to be used be inventoried for possible further testing as necessary. More than 350 ingredients that fall under the 10 basic food categories for the Olympic Games are under government supervision and inspection by the Beijing Food Security Office (BFSO), with food suppliers selected required to use highly strict standards mandated by the BFSO. Based on post’s observation, the designated Olympic hotels food supply, including meat, vegetables, packaged food and beverages are under scrutiny from point of production to delivery to ensure food safety and security. The tracking system is expected to provide maximum food safety for hotel guests during the Olympics, and beyond.

TK: Quite a glowing report from Post about China's food safety efforts, considering the U.S. Olympic team will bring its own produce to China. No Chinese fujis needed for the U.S. team... From a Feb. 22 story from the TimesOnline:

Chinese Olympic organisers yesterday criticised US athletes who are bringing their own food to the Games in Beijing this summer instead of trusting local cuisine.

Competitors are banned from importing their own food into the athletes' village under rules drawn up by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that are designed to protect the rights of sponsors such as McDonald's and to police the use of illegal substances.

The United States Olympic Committee, which will have more than 600 people in its delegation, is planning to transport its own produce because of fears about public health and food standards in China.

The athletes will eat their three daily meals at their training camp at a local university, which is outside the official confines of the Olympic Park.