Shanghai Vegetable Wholesaler Steps Up Inspections After Cabbage Formaldehyde Scare

A major vegetable wholesaler in Shanghai has ordered emergency testing for formaldehyde in all incoming cabbage shipments after reports surfaced that some buyers in Hebei Province were allegedly using the chemical to preserve produce, the company announced today, ThePaper reported.

Shanghai Vegetable Group launched a sweeping inventory check at all its wholesale markets following media reports that some cabbage buyers in Kangbao County, Zhangjiakou, had been using formaldehyde solution to extend shelf life. No contaminated produce from the affected area has been found so far, according to the report.

Since August 22, the company has added formaldehyde-specific testing to its regular safety checks, which already require batch-by-batch screening before sales and full documentation of sources. All tests conducted to date have returned negative results for formaldehyde and pesticide residues, the group said.

Authorities in Kangbao County, Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, said over the weekend that a video showing cabbage being dipped in formaldehyde solution before transport was authentic, and that police had taken compulsory measures against people and vehicles involved.

The county government said agricultural, market regulation and public security departments launched an on-site investigation after the video circulated online. Preliminary checks found that the conduct was carried out by buyers during loading to preserve vegetables for transport, and was illegal, according to the notice.

The case is still under investigation, the county government said. Authorities are urgently tracing the cabbage involved and are carrying out a countywide inspection of vegetable purchasing, transport and sales.

The video was posted Saturday by blogger Yulie Qige, who said he randomly checked several trucks loading Chinese cabbage in Kangbao County, and found cabbage being dipped in formaldehyde solution before loading. In the video, a truck driver said the load would be sent to Suqian in Jiangsu Province, while a person at the scene said the treatment could keep the vegetables fresh for "two to three days."

The blogger also said he had detected formaldehyde in cabbage at a market in Hefei, Anhui Province, and confirmed the vegetables had come from Hebei.

Zhangjiakou market regulation authority said they had noticed the matter, and that the local market regulator, agricultural bureau and police had become involved.

According to a previous report by China Science Communication, formaldehyde in vegetables can be endogenous or exogenous. Endogenous formaldehyde occurs naturally in small amounts during biological metabolism in foods such as vegetables, mushrooms, fruit, meat and fish, and generally does not pose a health risk. Exogenous formaldehyde comes from improper human use during food processing, transport or sale, and is the main source of formaldehyde contamination in food.

China's Food Safety Law prohibits formaldehyde from being used as a food processing aid in production, business operations or use, meaning any addition of formaldehyde to food is illegal.