"Food safety has become a serious problem in China. If measures
are not taken to resolve it, we will find that many people will be
unable to have children in the next 50 years," warned Zhong
Nanshan, a noted medical expert.
Zhong expressed these concerns recently in a group discussion of
the Municipal People's Congress of Guangzhou, the capital of south
China's Guangdong
Province. Zhong pointed out that there has been a rapid
increase in occurrences of a few diseases that are closely
associated with food contaminants.
In recent years, Guangzhou has seen a comparatively high number
of intestinal, cervical and ovarian cancer cases, all three of
which are closely linked with excessive employment of pesticides,
preservatives and ripening accelerators.
There have been reports that farmers clearing silt from
fishponds also cover the bottoms of the ponds with a sheet of
Ciprofloxacin. The drug not only plays a role in prevention of fish
diseases, but also acts as a growth accelerator. Food contaminated
with this drug is extremely harmful to human health, reported
Zhong.
Male infertility appears to be a growing problem. Forty years
ago, a sperm count of 50 to 100 million was considered normal. At
present this figure has dropped to just 30 million.
Zhong Nanshan suggested broadening the functions and authority
of food and drug administrators to empower them to ensure food
safety.
Zhong pointed out that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
is given enforcement authority, while the Chinese counterpart is
merely a coordinating body with severely restricted functions.
Zhong Nanshan expressed his hope that Guangzhou, as an
enlightened and progressive city, would not blindly follow
unreasonable trends or remain passive on this issue until forced to
act.
(China.org.cn by Zhang Tingting April 1, 2004)