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Tag: China food scares

China: Danone tries again

May 20, 2013 9:35am by Leslie Hook
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Shares in Mengniu, China’s largest milk seller by volume, soared more than nine per cent on Monday on news that Danone of France was set to invest €325m in two joint ventures with the Chinese company.

Danone will take a four per cent indirect stake in Mengniu through a joint venture with Cofco, a state-owned agricultural company that is Mengniu’s largest shareholder. Danone is also purchasing a 20 per cent stake in Mengniu’s yoghurt businesses, subject to regulatory approvals. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , Posted in China |

Ai Weiwei takes aim at China’s formula milk scandals

May 10, 2013 12:31pm by Patti Waldmeir
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The quality of Chinese infant milk is not just an issue for mothers and the market – now Ai Weiwei, the artist Beijing most loves to hate, has been inspired by the formula scandals to create a piece of protest art.

The dissident artist told the South China Morning Post that his new sculpture, to be unveiled in Hong Kong next week at an exhibition dedicated to the history of epidemics, was inspired by the continuing crisis over the quality of mainland infant milk – a crisis that has had repercussions around the world, with grocery stores as far away as the UK restricting sales as mainland consumers rush to procure safer supplies overseas. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , Posted in Asia, China |

Ikea insists its Chinese meatballs are horsemeat-free

Feb 26, 2013 11:32am by Patti Waldmeir
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China has gained such fame for food safety crises that Chinese consumers are normally delighted to be told that what they are eating is imported rather than local.

But on Tuesday Ikea turned the tables by announcing that the Swedish meatballs in its mainland cafeterias are safe – precisely because they are Chinese. Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in China |

KFC in China: it’s bad, bad, bad

Feb 4, 2013 10:30pm by Pan Kwan Yuk
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As expected, a dreadful fourth quarter for Yum! Brands following furor over a food safety scare in China.

Like-for-like sales growth in China – a market that now accounts for half of total group revenues and profits – fell 6 per cent for the quarter, compared to the 21 per cent increase seen during Q4 of 2011.

But the worst is yet to come. The company said it expects same-store sales in China to fall “approximately 25 per cent for January and February combined”. Continue reading »

Tags: , , Posted in Asia, China |

Yum’s China woes: it’s the toxic chickens

Jan 8, 2013 12:25am by Pan Kwan Yuk
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So it was the toxic chicken accusations afterall.

Shares in Yum! Brands fell more than 5 per cent in aftermarket trading on Monday after the inanely-punctuated US owner of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut said China sales fell more than expected. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , Posted in Asia, China |

China milk: not so Bright

Jun 28, 2012 10:14am by Patti Waldmeir
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China’s dairy industry is the cow that keeps on giving – scandals.

Earlier this month it was mercury in the baby formula of Yili, the mainland’s largest dairy producer by revenue. In December, products of Mengniu, China’s second largest dairy, were destroyed after they were found to contain aflatoxin, which can cause severe liver damage. Four years ago it was melamine in milk: an industrial chemical added to boost apparent protein content, it eluded government quality control until hundreds of thousands of chinese infants had kidney stones from it.

So what’s the lastest? Continue reading »

Tags: , , Posted in Asia, China |

China: what’s in the dumplings?

Apr 13, 2012 11:28am by Patti Waldmeir
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Just another week in the life of a Chinese housewife: first it was yogurt made from old shoes, then tea tainted with pesticides and now comes news that even the sacred xiaolongbao – small steamed dumplings, the signature dish of Shanghai – may be harbouring dangerous additives. Continue reading »

Tags: , , Posted in Asia, China |

China’s latest scare: poisonous teas

Apr 11, 2012 3:32am by Leslie Hook
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Care for some pesticides with your tea? That’s what tea drinkers in China, the world’s biggest consumer of tea, are asking themselves after the latest revelation of toxic tea leaves for sale across the country.

On Wednesday, a report from Greenpeace outlined the pesticides — including carcinogenic and banned chemicals — found in 18 Chinese teas, including some of the country’s best-known brands. Continue reading »

Tags: Posted in China |

China’s toxic milk: coming clean?

Dec 28, 2011 11:28am by Simon Rabinovitch
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Those bored with ordinary milk – healthy but uninteresting as far as drinks go – might want to try the Chinese variety. Laced with kidney-ravaging toxins, harmful bacteria and carcinogens, milk in China is anything but dull. Drinking it is a high-risk activity.

That at least is the impression from the latest scandal to hit the country’s beleaguered dairy industry. But there is some room for optimism. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , Posted in China |

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