HANOI, Vietnam --
As Nguyen Van Ninh needles his chopsticks through a
steaming bowl of Vietnam's famous noodle soup, he knows
it could be spiked with formaldehyde. But the thought of
slurping up the same chemical used to preserve corpses
isn't enough to deter him."I think if we don't see
those chemicals being put in the food with our own eyes,
then we can just smack our lips and pretend that there
are no chemicals in the food," he said, devouring a
30-cent bowl of "pho" on a busy Hanoi sidewalk. "Why
worry about it?"
While the discovery of tainted imports from China has
shocked Westerners, food safety has long been a problem
in much of Asia, where enforcement is lax and food
poisoning deaths are not unusual. Hot weather, lack of
refrigeration and demand for cheap street food drives
vendors and producers to find inexpensive - and often
dangerous - ways to preserve their products.
What's exported, for the most part, is the good
stuff. Companies know they must meet certain standards
if they want to make money. But in the domestic market,
substandard items and adulterated foods abound,
including items rejected for export.
Formaldehyde, for instance, has long been used to
lengthen the shelf life of rice noodles and tofu in some
Asian countries, even though it can cause liver, nerve
and kidney damage. The chemical, often used in
embalming, was found a few years ago in seven of 10 pho
noodle factories in Hanoi.
Borax, found in everything from detergent to
Fiberglas, is also commonly used to preserve fish and
meats in Indonesia and elsewhere. Farmers in various
countries often spray produce with banned pesticides,
such as DDT.
"The people who do this want to make money. And if
they're stupid and greedy, this is a bad combination,"
said Gerald Moy, a food safety expert at the World
Health Organization in Geneva. "It's the wild West."
The quality of Asian food has come under harsh
scrutiny after toxic substances were discovered in
several Chinese exports.
Wheat gluten tainted with the industrial chemical
melamine has been blamed for killing or sickening
thousands of dogs and cats in North America. Fish
containing pufferfish toxins, drug-laced frozen eel and
juice spiked with harmful dyes were among other unsafe
products shipped to the U.S.
Diethylene glycol, a sweet-tasting thickening agent
also used in antifreeze, has been blamed for the deaths
of at least 51 people in Panama after the chemical was
imported from China and mixed into cough syrup and other
medicines. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has
halted all shipments of Chinese toothpaste to test for
the same chemical reportedly found in tubes sold in
Australia, the Dominican Republic and Panama.
The problems in Asia are not limited to China. Ice
cream and sweets made with the same industrial dyes used
for coloring garments have been found outside schools,
and farmers have been caught dipping fruits in
herbicide, to add shine, a day before going to market.
In India, pesticides often taint groundwater and
produce. Coca-Cola and Pepsi have been dueling with a
New Delhi environmental group, which alleged it found
unacceptable levels of pesticides in soft drinks.
Street food is another problem. Millions grab
everything from chicken kebabs to rice porridge from
unregulated food stalls where hygiene is often poor.
Unsafe preservatives are sometimes added, and vendors
typically use the cheapest oils and ingredients.
But the food is hot, cheap and tasty - a combination
that often overrides safety concerns in countries where
many still live on $2 a day.
"Asking for food quality would be a luxury," said
Alex Hillebrand, chemical and food safety adviser at
WHO's regional office in New Delhi. "They're hungry
people."
Some countries, such as Thailand, are trying to
improve domestic food safety. In bustling Bangkok, where
pots bubble and woks sizzle at makeshift kitchens
pitched on sidewalks, markets are issued test kits that
can detect up to 22 contaminants.
No one knows the extent of chemical-laced food in
Asia or how it will affect public health.
"It might be that you consume it today, but you don't
see any effects for 10 years," said Peter Sousa Hoejskov,
a food quality and safety officer at the U.N. Food and
Agriculture Organization in Thailand. "Some foods have
issues that are developing over a long, long time and
others you have an immediate reaction."
China has faced outrage among its own citizens in
recent years. Whiskey laced with methanol, a toxic wood
alcohol, was blamed for killing at least 11 people in
southern Guangzhou. Local media in Shanghai uncovered
the sale of phony tofu made from gypsum, paint and
starch.
At least a dozen Chinese babies died and more than
200 were sickened with symptoms associated with
malnutrition after drinking infant formula made of sugar
and starch with few nutrients. In another case, lard for
human consumption was made with hog slop, sewage,
pesticides and recycled industrial oil.
Some Vietnamese have been so shaken by news of
tainted Chinese foods, they are changing their eating
habits. They are avoiding Chinese-made products and
paying more - up to $2 a bowl - for pho at an
air-conditioned chain restaurant with signs promising no
formaldehyde or borax.
"I am very, very worried about it," said Duong Thuy
Quynh, 31, who was eating beef pho because she was also
worried about bird flu in chicken. "I'm ready to pay
more to protect myself and my family."
A woman cuts up fish at a market
in Hoi An, Vietnam on May 22, 2007. Food safety is a
daily issue in Asia where hot weather, a lack of
refrigeration and the demand for cheap street food
drives vendors to find inexpensive ways to preserve
their products despite health risks. Enforcement is
lax in many countries where deaths from food poisoning
are common and farmers often spray banned pesticides,
such as DDT, on produce. AP Photo/David Guttenfelder
A couple eats traditional noodles
at a restaurant north of Hanoi on May 14, 2007. Food
safety is a daily issue in Asia where hot weather, a
lack of refrigeration and the demand for cheap street
food drives vendors to find inexpensive ways to
preserve their products despite health risks.
Formaldehyde is sometimes used to doctor rice noodles
and tofu to lengthen shelf life even though it can
cause liver, nerve and kidney damage. The chemical,
often used in embalming, was found a few years ago in
seven of 10 noodle factories in Hanoi. AP Photo/David
Guttenfelder
People sell goods at a market in
Hoi An, Vietnam, on May 22, 2007. Food safety is a
daily issue in Asia where hot weather, a lack of
refrigeration and the demand for cheap street food
drives vendors to find inexpensive ways to preserve
their products despite health risks. Enforcement is
lax in many countries where deaths from food poisoning
are common and farmers often spray banned pesticides,
such as DDT, on produce. AP Photo/David Guttenfelder
A vendor sells food from the back
of a bike on a beach in Danang, Vietnam, May 21, 2007.
Food safety is a daily issue in Asia where hot
weather, a lack of refrigeration and the demand for
cheap street food drives vendors to find inexpensive
ways to preserve their products despite health risks.
Enforcement is lax in many countries where deaths from
food poisoning are common and farmers often spray
banned pesticides, such as DDT, on produce. AP
Photo/David Guttenfelder
The remains of a lunch at a shop
north of Honoi, Vietnam, on May 15, 2007. Food safety
is a daily issue in Asia where hot weather, a lack of
refrigeration and the demand for cheap street food
drives vendors to find inexpensive ways to preserve
their products despite health risks. Enforcement is
lax in many countries where deaths from food poisoning
are common and farmers often spray banned pesticides,
such as DDT, on produce. AP Photo/David Guttenfelder
