A study from the industry has shown that some of the well known food products in China have failed to meet the National Safety Standards for external packaging. Some of the insiders from the industry revealed that such scandals are unlikely to be avoided in the short terms due to the lax enforcement.
The executive vice president of the International Food Packaging Association, Dong Jinshi said that the tests found that many of the paper cups for instant noodles and milk and tea have excessive fluorescent whitening agent on their outside packaging. The results were based on the association’s three month study which ended this month.
The study had taken a close look at the 84 popular food products purchased from the local super markets and convenience stores in Beijing and Shanghai. 24 food products or 80 percent of the total samples taken in Beijing were found to have excessive fluorescent whitening agent.
Out of which many of the products have been on the super market shelves for many years and were listed as being substandard. The fluorescent whitening agent is a type of organic compound used to make the paper white, but it might cause cancer after people ingest it over time.
