The more belly-aching about food the better
Wang Yong
2006-01-07 Beijing Time
WHILE food is generally safe to eat in Shanghai, the recent scandals
involving certain big-name department stores, restaurants and pubs make
one ****ver.
Even City Plaza was involved. Local authorities found that the shop had
failed to label correctly some of its mango products.
The Shanghai Food and Drug Administration announced on Thursday that it
had confiscated and destroyed the products on the spot during an
investigation by its inspectors earlier this month.
To the rank and file citizenry of Shanghai, City Plaza stands for
quality, luxury and high prices. The prices it charges for food are
often much higher than other shops but it also offers a variety of food
that really is of higher quality.
For example, its pumpkins are much sweeter than those you can find in
most shops. Its ****k and sea food are also of excellent quality. To me
and many of my friends, buying food at City Plaza simply means buying
happiness.
Certainly, I won't lose total confidence in City Plaza just because of
one scandal involving one line of food.
But the scandal does make one wonder whether its many other lines of
food are really worth paying that much. Are their labels about shelf
life also problematic?
Once such a fear spreads, the image of City Plaza is likely to be
tarnished. But between its image and the safety of my stomach, I, of
course, favor the latter.
City Plaza was not alone. In Shanghai Renjia, a well-known local
restaurant, government investigators found that the shelf life of its
tofu had expired. They then confiscated and destroyed it on the spot,
too.
Other scandals included the hiring of untrained and unlicensed chefs
and mixing raw and cooked food at a famous hotpot restaurant; serving
outdated food at a cafeteria; and operating a restaurant without any
license at all.
It was good that, according to the Shanghai Food and Drug
Administration, there were no cases of food poisoning during the New
Year festivities.
Personally, I enjoy dining out in the city, believing that the food I
order will be safe.
However, having no food poisoning cases does not necessarily mean you
are safe. Maybe the problem won't "activate" until some time later. The
thought of having eaten a possible "slow killer" makes me uneasy.
I believe many other people think likewise. Who knows that what we eat
today won't destroy our health bit by bit? The fundamental thing in a
market economy is trust. Too often people take things for granted. We
tend to believe that what is priced high must be of high quality.
One story goes like this. About 10 years ago when inflation in China
was
wangyong@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
higher than it is now, a shop in Beijing was
frustrated because its cheaper ****rts were not selling.
Then the manager decided to raise the price tenfold - and the ****rts
sold quickly. This analysis of the mindset of consumers can work
wonders. Of course you would not eat in a shabby and dirty restaurant
by the roadside but you wouldn't hesitate for a minute if what meets
your eyes is a luxury establishment.
The recent food scandals inform us that even luxuries may not be worthy
of the name.
When you can't trust a shop, the government kicks in. Indeed the
Shanghai Food and Drug Administration has done more than just air some
dirty linen. Go to its website at http:// www.spaq.sh.cn
and you will
see how to tell good from bad.
The only regret I have now is that those shops should have been
disciplined more severely.
After all, they have done wrong either intentionally or because of
gross negligence.
In either case, they failed to care enough about your health.
|
