‘Eating’ is supposed to be the most pleasant daily activity to Chinese, but after 2006, our attitude changed. We would not be surprised to see people suffered from food poisoning or factories producing fake products- not your LV handbags, but our favourite foods and snacks, for instance, chicken eggs, fresh milk, tofu or even distilled water were borne out by media almost everyday.
It is more than crystal clear that there is an urge for the China Government and different sectors of our society to gather and cease this problem not only for our health, but also for the country and city’s image.To solve a problem, we need to find out its cause. A recent research commissioned by the Chinese University of Hong Kong revealed that 86% of the food problems originated from mainland China, especially Guangdong Province. Fake products ranged from milk bottles to milk powder; egg yolk with Sodan Red to antibiotic pork with super bacteria, are massively produced and imported into Hong Kong everyday.
Why would so many businessmen become so unconscious towards human life? Are these really what they want?Nor long ago, a local Beijing reporter, Chris Wong, tells us these outbreaks of food problems are owing to the unstable and unfair government policies which always lead small sized enterprises to be closed down without a penny of refund, and these businessmen, therefore, tend to involve in such an immoral activity in order to make big money within a relative short period if time.The China Government ,to begin with, should modify and revise its policies of food production in every province; moreover, those unqualified factories have to be penalized and arranged a team of food regulators to monitor the procedures and ingredients used for the food production, in hopes of eliminating food safety problem.On the contrary, our Government seems like she hasn’t learnt a lesson from the SARS epidemic in 2003, investigations and improvements are only made after sad news were broadcasted. Our government has to take up her responsibility to maintain both nation and international level food regulations, a comprehensive investigation and monitoring of food should not only process in supermarket- WalMark , but also in sixty four wet markets in Hong Kong in which 80% of citizens go every morning.
A intensive public education should also be available shortly on TV and radio to correct our citizens’ attitude when buying food, they should not only concern about the price but the place of production and nutrition value of food. A hotline can also be set up to alarm the public where not to go and what not to eat so as to prevent themselves from being the next victim of food problems.An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I believe with the above measures, a little bit determination, discipline and courage from different sections of our community, eventually we will have a chance to taste the scrambled egg with sea eel rice without a sight of worries but full of joys.
