Singapore steps up cabbage checks amid scandal in China
The Singapore Food Agency has stepped up checks on cabbage following reports of the illegal use of formaldehyde to treat vegetables in China. The agency said it is closely monitoring the situation and has enhanced surveillance and laboratory testing under its food safety monitoring programme, Channel NewsAsia reports.
Response of countries in the region
South Korea has also stepped up inspections of cabbage imported from China. Taiwan has begun checking whether potentially contaminated products could have reached the island through indirect channels.
Chinese authorities launched nationwide inspections of perishable vegetables after officials in the northern province of Hebei on August 22 confirmed the illegal use of formaldehyde to preserve cabbage during transportation.
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Video from Hebei
The scandal emerged after a video was published on the Douyin platform by a Chinese environmental blogger known by the pseudonym Qige. He claimed that workers in the town of Tunkeng in Kangbao County, Hebei Province, were dipping cabbage into a suspected formaldehyde solution before loading it for transport.
According to workers in the video, the shipment was intended for the city of Suqian in Jiangsu Province. Local authorities, according to China Daily, said a preliminary investigation showed that the practices depicted in the recording had taken place. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies formaldehyde as carcinogenic to humans. The substance is used, among other things, in the production of plastics and resins; it also has preservative properties.
