10 Fake Chinese Foods That May Kill You in 2022!! Part 2

Hey guys, welcome back to the Genius Tomato Blog. For those of you that haven’t watched our video the 10 Fake Chinese Foods That May Kill You in 2021, the link is description box below and also on the top right of the screen so make sure to check that out.

Now I couldn’t possibly cover all the fake Chinese foods in one setting the first time but still want you to be  aware of what you might be putting in your body so in post we will cover the top 10 Fake Chinese Foods That May Kill You Part 2.

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Number 1 on the list is Gutter oil – For those of you who might not be aware of what gutter oil is, it is essentially cooking oil that has been recycled. To clarify this further and true to its name, it is cooking oil that is pulled from the gutters in China to be recycled and sold back as cooking oil as this scandal has been documented by the Atlantic.

Freestyle using the video. In this video, you will see a woman in the southern Chinese city of China Shenzin opening up the sewer and digging out slop.

Slop ends up in processing plant where it is combined with other animal fats to make recycled cooking oil – also known as gutter oil. Oil is put into barrels and delivered to restaurants who uses it to cook food for unsuspecting customers.          

Now listen to this, Chinese expert’s estimate that possibly up to 1/10 of China’s cooking oil is actually gutter oil and is found to contain carcinogens and other toxic chemicals that is harmful to humans.

The Chinese police are doing what they can to stop this illegal industry by seizing tons of gutter oils, arrests, enacted a tough food safety law in 2009 but the high profits are just too attractive for some to not engage in the gutter oil production.

A lot of this gutter oil is sold to small street food vendors and hole in the walls type of restaurants. If you are a fan of street food this might be a good reason to be more cautious of eating street foods in China.

 

Number 2 on the list – Canned Peaches from China. Ever checked the back of your canned food to see where it has been made? Well to no surprise there are many canned foods from China including canned peaches. Peaches are indigenous to China but that doesn’t mean they are necessarily safe to eat.

In an article from The Guardian back in 2014, it was discovered that imported canned peaches from China were found to contain up to twice the amounts of lead that is actually allowed. Due to the low costs of these canned peaches, a lot of them are being served in hospitals and elderly homes in Australia.

The reasons of the high levels of lead found in these canned peaches can possibly stem from the fact that the companies in China are still using lead to solder their cans. This is a practice that was banned back in 1995 by America due to using lead to seal cans were found to be unsafe.

Lead poisoning can have symptoms ranging from headaches to even a coma.

Now that you’re aware of the potential dangers of canned peaches from China, you might want to think twice before opening up that can.      

Number 3 on the list – Knockoff Alcohol from China. Let’s face it, the world loves to drink booze including myself but it might be best to proceed with caution when buying booze that is made in China. In an article by the Guardian, counterfeit or fake alcohols were being produced illegally with methods such as the alcohol being made in bathtub, unhygienic tubes, and in some cases being bottled in toilets.

This counterfeit alcohol is most likely made with poor quality unregulated ingredients such as toxic industrial chemicals. These chemicals can include ethylene glycol which is common chemical used in industrial settings including antifreeze and coolant, methanol which is also known as wood oil which is also used industrially. Isopropyl alcohol is also used which is commonly used as rubbing alcohol. Obviously, all these are extremely dangerous to consume and can lead to major health issues

Sources estimate that potentially up to 30% of all alcohol in China is fake. In 2017, 13 people were poisoned drinking this fake alcohol being labeled as real drinking alcohol. 

Also, lower quality alcohol is also being labeled as higher end top brand alcohols commanding the higher end price tag. 

That’s one hangover headache you probably don’t want to ever have.

Number 4 on the list – Soy sauce made with human hair. In the first video, I covered the counterfeit soy sauces made with industrial salt from China. If you haven’t watched yet, make sure to check it out on our YouTube Channel. 

Now the soy sauce controversies continues and, in an article by the Internet Journal of Toxicology reported that for some counterfeit soy sauces found that it’s ingredients contained human hair that was collected from the floors of barber shops and salons. The amino acids that are found in human hair can be used to make a condiment such as soy sauce and has flavor that is similar to soy.

The human hair is processed into amino acid syrup and mixed with other ingredients. The thing in question, is how sanitary is this human hair. It potentially may have bacteria and other micro-organisms that can be harmful for consumption;. But that’s nothing until you hear this; in an investigation that was done by TV journalists, it was discovered that some of the other ingredients were condoms, hospital cottons, and used menstrual pads.

I don’t know about you but I would not like to be using soy sauce that is made with human hair and these other ingredients to serve with my food.

Number 5 on the list – Gel-injected Prawns from China. Now what makes these prawns from China fake is that fact that they are practically prawns on steroids. And what I mean by that is they are injecting prawns with Gelatin to increase the weight and the size so it can be sold at a higher price.

And obviously with higher price, comes high profits all at the expense of the consumer. In an article by by the China’s people daily, unethical vendors have been reportedly injecting industrial-grade gelatin in shrimps to sell to the public. Whether the gel is edible is questionable and I highly doubt it. The process of the gel being injected into the prawns is most likely far from hyenic and has potentially might have risks of contamination

Now the question you’re all thinking is how much more profits can these vendors make with these gel filled prawns? The answer is up to 30% more in profits which further explains why these vendors are doing this.

Perhaps next time you see prawns made in China, you would be a bit more cautious.

Number 6 on the list – Contaminated bottled water from China. The list keeps on getting crazier. now messing with food is one thing but now contaminating people’s drinking water is just taking it too far.  As you might have guessed, now even have to be cautious of the water you drink in China. It is no surprise that many people in China resort to bottled water due to the high pollution levels in in the cities which obviously affects the water supply.

In article from the South China morning post, studies and tests show that almost a quarter of China’s supposed purified bottle water is below quality standards with many found to have been contaminated with high levels of bacteria. Now you can imagine if your drinking up to the recommended 8 bottles or glasses a day of this how this will add up. (freestyle)

Chinese police have also uncovered scams in which bottled waters are filled with tap water or poorly treated water. These supposed purified water bottles are then sealed with quality sealed standards giving a false sense of security for the would-be drinkers. Unethical vendors obviously do this to increase their profit margins. This gets even better because some of these fake bottled water have been found to have e-coli and other harmful fungi which can cause extensive damage to the body if consumed consistently. 

Next time you drink water, probably best to check to see where it is made from. Thirsty anyone? 

 

Number 7 on the list – Expired Meat from China. There have been a few incidents in where expired foods were still somehow making their way to the market floor to be sold to unsuspecting customers. In June 2013, police in the city of Wenzhou shut down underground mills that were selling expired meats. Now, check this out – meat being expired is bad enough but these vendors took it another step further. Along with the shut down, the police also seized chemical additives and coloring agents, which were being used to clean the expired meats such as chicken wings and drumsticks and duck meats before re-selling back to the public.

Now this gets even better, in 2014 a vendor company was repackaging old meat for sale, labeling the expired packages with brand new expiration dates. Some of the meat were reportedly were up to a year after expiration date. This expired meat was distributed to a lot of popular well known fast food brands which you see in this video where some workers are even picking up patties from the floor. It was mentioned by workers that the stinky expired meat was mostly concealed by mixing it with the non expired meats.

Number 8 – Fake Blood pudding – As gross as this sounds to begin with, it sounds so much worse when you realize people actually eat this. Matter fact, blood pudding is actually a delicacy in parts of China. The blood pudding is normally made with either pig’s or duck blood which undergoes filtration, salted, and then left to congeal.

In article by the global times, it was reported that there were several cases in where fake blood pudding was being sold. Now, duck blood is more expensive then pig’s blood which has led to selling the cheaper big blood as duck blood for higher profits.

Here’s the catch, In order to make the pig blood taste similar to the duck blood – many harmful ingredients are added. One of these harmful ingredients is formaldehyde. For those of you who do not know what formaldehyde is, it is a strong smelling gas colorless gas used in making building materials and many household products. This is added because it increases the pig bloods shelf life and firmness.  

As you can guess, this gas is extremely toxic and if consumed it can damage the liver, kidney, and nerves. Now the best way to identify if its real duck blood or fake pig’s blood, is when the duck blood is uncooked it is delicate and crisp in texture whereas the fake blood will be chewy and easier to pick up with a pair of chopsticks. 

Number 9 -  Tilapia Fish  from China – I got a fun fact for you. Did you know that Tilapia was one of the most top 10 consumed seafood's in America? According to the food and agriculture organization, up to 62% of the Tilapia in American are imported from China. That is more then half, and you can guess by if it makes the lists on this video, it might not be such a good thing .

What I mean by that is it is a well-known fact that fish is a essential key food for a healthy diet. Well, that is until you find out what the Tilapia's from china diet is it will make you want to change your mind. The Tilapias are fed feces are better known as poop. Now if this doesn’t make your stomach turn then I don’t know what will.

Now according to an article from ABC news, there have been fish farms in China in which it was discovered that Tilapias were being fed poop. There had been instances in where the fishes were fed feces from animals such as Sheep, pigs, and chicken and the tilapia would eat it up if there is no other food around. This is found to be unsafe to consume as obviously the feces can contain salmonella and ecoli. 

What makes things even worse as previously mentioned on the number 6 – the water in China is highly polluted which one will have to question the actual quality of the water that the Tilapia are swimming around in and the potential pollution and toxic chemicals it might be exposed to.

How can u still eat Tilapia but avoid the ones from China. According to the Environmental Defense fund suggests to get Tilapia that are raised in the United States or Latin America. I don’t blame people for wanting to stay away from eating Tilapia fish made in China after knowing this. Next time you have a Tilapia, just think of the last meal it might have had.

Number 10 – Tainted pork meat from China – Now I know we already covered a lot of scandals on meat including the expired meats in this video and the fake beef, and rat meat from our first video, but the meat scandals just seems to continue. As covered in an article by the Europe China daily, multiple people in the Hubei province of China fell ill after eating tainted pork meat.

Now this pork meat was tainted with a  clenbuterol. For those of you who do not know what clenbutero is, it is a is a substance amine used by sufferers of breathing disorders. During the 1980’s, Chinese farmers were using clenbuterol to stimulate faster growth in pigs and other livestock but was banned in 2002 due to potential health concerns that come from consuming Clenbuterol tainted meat. But banning does not mean that the practice has stopped as unethical farmers still use it to drive faster lean muscle growth in their pigs and other livestock.

Police in the Hubei province have cracked down on this illegal practice and made multiple arrests and seized illegal substances.

Now symptoms of eating this Clenbuterol tainted meat can be headaches, muscle tremors, dizziness, and irritation to the bowels such as vomiting and diarrhea.. Although rare, It is especially high risk to those with existing heart issues and can be potentially be deadly.

Here is fun fact for you, according to statista.com China is the leading global producer of pork, producing up to 55 million metric tons of pork per year. Now with all this pork, its hard to know exactly which countries that China might be exporting its pork meat too including to countries who love to consume pork.

Next time you have anything with pork, you might to check to see where it was made from.

There you have it. That is our Top 10 Dangerous Chinese foods that can kill you part 2. Again, next time you eat, I don’t’ want you questioning everything but its always best to stay informed and aware of the things you are putting into your body.

If you found value in this, please make sure to share this on social media or other platforms to inform others and subscribe and smash the notification button to receive updates on new posts just like this. Also click the thumbs button.  Leave in the comments below, on what you think is the most dangerous fake food or if there is any I might have missed. Stay informed! Genius Tomato out!

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