Majority of Chinese Wary About Food Contamination

A new study has revealed that the risk of food contamination is so widespread in China that a majority of Chinese are wary about what kind of food products they eat.

A poll shows most people have a negative view of food safety in China, with more than 70 percent saying they feel "unsafe".

The study, conducted by Shanghai Institute for Food and Drug Safety and East China University of Science and Technology, was released Wednesday.

It aims to find information on how the public looks at the country's food safety issues, and to provide guidance for policymakers, the official People's Daily reported Thursday.

The questionnaire study involved 4,000 people in eight cities.

In their overall judgment on the country's food safety, 73 percent said they believe the food is unsafe, of which 27.8 percent chose "extremely unsafe".

"Such a negative attitude on food safety issues is caused by the continuous exposure of food safety scandals in recent years, which deal a blow to public confidence," said Ruan Zanlin, a food safety expert from the East China University of Science and Technology.

Source: IANS