Staff Correspondent

Edited by: James M. Kelly

Photo Courtest of Blogspot.

According to the latest draft law celebrities will now share the legal responsibility for advertising food products that are found unsafe and unfit for human consumption.

The draft food safety law specifies that all social organisations and individuals who now recommend unsafe food products in ads shoulder “joint liability” with food producers if the products harm consumers’ rights and interests.

The draft was submitted for review on Wednesday February 25 to the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee.

Law professor Yang Lixin from Renmin University of China explains that “joint liability” means that consumers can demand compensation from both the unsafe food’s producers and the celebrities that appear in the advertisements.

Liu Xirong, the deputy director of the NPC Law Committee told the China Daily that the change was in a response to the many legislators’ complaints about false or exaggerated food advertisements where a lot of them are featuring celebrities. It is said that the ads have been cheating and misleading the consumers.

He continued with the fact that they did consider it necessary to enforce stricter controls over food advertisements.

The new draft also bans food supervision authorities, and industry and consumer associations from recommending food products to consumers in advertisements or in any other form. And if the companies do not comply with the new laws, their directors or those with direct responsibility may face demotion or instant dismissal.

Since the melamine scandal in September started, unsafe food product advertisements became a major issue.

Many citizens have wondered it the celebrities who promoted the tainted products, especially those for the Sanlu Group should also share the responsibility for the six infants who died and the other 30,000 people who became ill.

Head of Peking University’s advertising department Chen Gang said he welcomed the legislation.

He told the China Daily that celebrities enjoy the vast social influence. It is a known fact that it is easier for the public believes something a celebrity says compared to an ordinary person.

Chen strongly believes that stricter controls are needed when it comes to food advertisement because food products can directly affect human health.

Some legal experts have mentioned that the law is well intended but it seems to have gone a little too far.

Yang explained how the rule aims to prevent the celebrities from abusing their influence, which is necessary, but actually subjecting them to joint liability does seem to be a bit too harsh.

NPC Law Committee member Wang Liming expressed how he felt and said that it was a bit unfair to put celebrities who appear in food advertisements on the same tier of legal responsibility as food producers.

The China Daily stated Wang saying, “There’s no doubt food producers should shoulder the primary responsibility if there are food incidents.”

Wang also believes that celebrities who recommend unsafe food products in commercials should bear some sort of responsibility.

The China Daily stated Yang saying, “It should matter whether the celebrities were or were not aware the food products were unsafe. Joint liability should apply to those who were.”

Jiang Wenjuan, agent of famous mainland actress Jiang Wenli stated that the new rule will now only force celebrities to think twice before appearing in food advertisements.

The China Daily stated her saying, “We’re already very careful about doing such ads. We usually ask for all relevant government certification to prove the products are safe. But if such a stipulation becomes law, it’s certain that we’ll be even more careful.”

Jiang also mentioned how the celebrities do occasionally sign a contract with the food producers stating that the star will bear no responsibility in the case of consumer complaints.

Written by:
Amber Butler-Davis

Edited by: James M. Kelly
Vietnamese Children Suffer Malnutrition
A report states that more than 32.6 percent of children in Vietnam are malnourished, stunted and underweight. This makes the country one of the world’s 20 worst performers in child nutrition.

The Ministry of Health’s National Institute of Nutrition reported that malnutrition in children is most common in Tay Nguyen, especially in the north western areas and the northern part of the central area.

Deputy Minister Tran Chi Liem explained at national conference on nutrition, which was held on February 16 in Ha Noi, that nutrition improvement activities had been underway since last year and had reduced the rate of malnutrition in children by one percentage point over the previous year.

However, he also mentioned that the programme had been delayed by the economic downturn and the outbreak of epidemics. He also asked the conference members to focus the discussions on how to solve the current nutrition problem.

Truong Hong Son, the secretary of the Child Malnutrition Prevention Programme told the Vietnam News that the program this year targets the increasing breastfeeding rate in the babies’ first six months by five percent and the number of mothers having proper knowledge of nutrition by ten percent.

Son also mentioned that a target had been set to reduce underweight by 1.1 percent and stunting by 1.3 percent.

The ministry has planned to keep strengthening public communication, education and the care of pregnant women. Also included will be nutrition recovery activities and supplement nutrition for pregnant women.

Other plans in the program include providing vitamin A for children from six months old to five years old and worming for children aged two to five who are living in targeted areas.

Nguyen Cong Khan, the director of the National Institute of Nutrition said Vietnam has made fast and sustainable progress in reducing the malnutrition rate in recent years.

He also explained how the growth-stunting rate will been reduced to under 10 percent within 15-20 years. However, in the short term, he does hope that Vietnam can reduce the underweight rate to be below 15 per cent by 2015.

Written by:
Amber Butler-Davis

Edited by: James M. Kelly
Pigs found to be contaminated with illegal additive.

The local health authorities reported that from February 20 -23 at least 70 have suffered food poisoning in the Guangdong province after consuming pig organs that were contaminated by a banned food additive.

Wang Guobin, an official with the Guangzhou municipal public health bureau explained how three people have had to remain in hospital for further observation while the remaining have been discharged after being treated.

All the victims were complaining of stomach aches and diarrhoea after eating pig organs that were brought into the local markets on Thursday. The authorities explained on Saturday that all of the victims of food poisoning were from the Tianhe and Zengcheng districts of Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong.

Wang told the China Daily in an interview that their initial investigation showed that the pig organs were contaminated with clenbuterol this is an additive that is actually banned in pig feed in China.

Investigators have now detained three people that are suspected to have involvement in the raising and selling of the contaminated pigs. Local authorities have successfully found that the contaminated pigs came from farms in several places in Hunan province.

Clenbuterol, also known as “shouroujing”, is an additive that prevents the pigs from accumulating fat. However, it is extremely harmful and can be fatal if humans consume it.

Clenbuterol residue often accumulates in organs such as the liver and lungs. One of the largest food poisoning cases involving clenbuterol happened in Shanghai in September 2006 when over 33o people were hospitalised after eating pig meat or their organs that were contaminated with the additive.

Written by:
Staff Reporter Amber Butler-Davis
Edited by: James Kelly

The Chinese calendar has worked since the Emperor Huang introduced the cycle of the Zodiac in 2600 B.C. The Chinese calendar follows the circle of the moon, meaning that, according to our Western calendar, the beginning of the new year can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February.

This year, falling under the symbol of the ox. The holiday will be celebrated on the 26 and 27 of January. A complete circle of the Chinese lunar calendar takes up 60 years, which is then divided into five cycles containing 12 years in each.

Each of these 12 years is named after a particular animal. The legend is that the Lord Buddha summoned all of the animals to appear to him as he departed from this earth. The following 12 animals are the only ones that came to say farewell to him. A rat, an ox, a tiger, a rabbit, a dragon, a snake, a horse, a sheep, a monkey, a rooster, a dog and a bear.

The Buddha then named a year after each animal in the order they arrived as a reward for coming to say goodbye to him. The Chinese belief is that an individual that is born in a certain year will therefore carry with them the certain characteristics of the animal that that year was named after.

With this year being the year of the ox, here is what we can expect to see from being that were born in the ox’s years. Tenacity, steadfastness, a suspicion of dubious schemes, little time for idle conversation and a commitment to hard work. It is surprising to say that President Barack Obama falls under this symbol.

Other prominent oxen’s include Diana the Princess of Wales; former President Richard Nixon; impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh; singer Bruce Springsteen; and actors George Clooney, Bill Cosby, Jane Fonda, Morgan Freeman and Dustin Hoffman.

The manager of Merlion Asian Market in Nashua, Joy Chaisiriwon explained how this is going to be the biggest celebration in China. Many families will get together on the Sunday of the 26th for the Pai Pai ceremony, she continued.

Chaisiriwon also said that this is the time when families attempt to affect their fortunes for the forthcoming year, whether it be in health, wealth or grandchildren.

She explained how there are three basic items that are essential to the ceremony. First, there has to be a whole chicken, complete with the head and feet; a serving of crispy pork; and a pan-fried fish, complete with the head and fins, Chaisiriwon said.

Every home will be decorated in red and gold, while a blossoming tree will be brought into the house and decorated with wishes written on slips of red paper. All of the food eaten on the Chinese New Year’s Eve has specific importance.

Along with the fish, chicken and pork, there must also be uncut noodles, which symbolise long life. In addition, dried bean curd and seaweed are there to represent health and happiness.

Fried rice with egg contributes abundance while the Peking duck promises fidelity. Additionally, any dish containing Bok Choy will bring good luck.

Don’t forget about the traditional desserts that must include coconut candies, preserved ginger, watermelon seeds and dried peanuts. 



The recipes below can help you enjoy the celebration of the Chinese New Year as well as having a positive affect on your future year.

STIR-FRIED BOK CHOY WITH RED PEPPER


2 tablespoons canola or peanut oil
2 cloves garlic,
Finely chopped
 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

1 bunch bok choy, leaves separated and cut on the diagonal

1 red pepper, cut julienne

4 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine or sherry

1 spring onion, finely sliced


Heat wok, and add oil. Toss in garlic and ginger, sauté for 30 seconds. Add bok choy and pepper; cook until tender. Add additional soy sauce, sesame oil and sherry to taste. Serve hot with egg noodles.

 Serves 4-6.



MANDARIN PANCAKES


2½ cups unsifted flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup boiling water

1 tablespoon lard, cut into small pieces

Sesame oil


Mix the flour and the salt. Add boiling water, and stir with chopsticks. Add the lard, knead all and leave to rest for 20 minutes.

 Roll the dough into a cylinder about 1 inch in diameter. Slice into 1-inch long pieces. Take one piece of the dough, and flatten it with the palm of your hand. Drizzle with a little sesame oil, and place another flattened disc on top. Using a rolling pin, roll into a disc about 5 inches in diameter.


To cook, place each pair of pancakes into a small nonstick pan. Cook until small brown spots begin to appear. Turn the pancakes over, and do the same on the other side. Remove to a plate. Repeat the process with each of the pancakes. 
When cool, carefully separate each pair of pancakes. Keep warm. To be served with Peking Duck.

 Serves 4-6

Amber Butler-Davis
Staff Reporter

In August 2008, China’s most anticipated anti-monopoly law was finally introduced; it was only thirteen years in the making. This law will provide an inclusive framework that will help regulate competition and prevent monopolistic behavior.

Despite its use of vague language, there are still many unanswered questions such as which authority will be in charge of implementation and also there is an air of uncertainty regarding its exact applications. But apart from these questions, the law has been received well. Many law firms and observers have said it is a positive development and it will definitely be a step forward in helping China with international practices while increasing fair competition in the country.

Coca-Cola’s recent bid for China Huiyuan Juice will be the first deal to be reviewed under the new law. The deal is being closely monitored by the M&A community and this will help give everyone a clearer idea of how the new law will actually be implemented.

Coca-Cola offered to buy China Huiyuan Juice in early September for $2.3 billion. Those involved in the process mentioned that the key to a speedy approved deal will in fact be the definition of the market that will be most affected by the deal and the submission of extensive documentation that must include details such as the impact on the competition.

This deal in particular had to determine whether it would be the whole beverage market that would be affected or only the juice or cola sections. A legal source that would like to remain un-named said that whether we take pure juice or cola separately or take an overview of both markets. In the end, Coca-Cola’s take over of Huiyuan juice will in evidently generate monopoly concerns. But, when put into context with the whole soft drink market, the monopoly concerns will be significantly less.

In the concerns of the documentation, the legal source did suggest that the notifying company should indeed work with highly experienced lawyers when it comes to submitting the required documents. If the information you provide is in a clear and concise format, this will help dramatically when forming a rational definition of the relevant market. It will also decrease the amount of time that the Ministry of Commerce (MOCOM) takes to reach a final decision.

Coca-Cola’s legal adviser is Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom while Huiyuan Juice has appointed Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
In the Anti-Monopoly Law, clause number 23 instructs the notifying companies to submit a total of five documents. These documents include, an extensive report on the competition situation in the relevant market in question, this report is extremely important when determining an outcome of the review.

The legal source explained that is the relevant market defined in the report is too large, it could actually delay the MOCOM to review it. However, if the market outline is too small, the MOCOM could actually block the deal because of monopoly concerns.

An official of MOCOM commented on the market competition report and said that it should be quite detailed but carefully measured. The report should include an analysis of barriers to the market entry and also a breakdown of the market share. In a nutshell, the more detailed and complete the report is the better of it is to succeed.

The MOCOM explained how they have often had to ask for extra documentation because the initial report has not had enough depth to it. A Shaghai lawyer, who has experience in antitrust notification, said that supplementary documentation requests are the main reason why most of the antitrust reviews are delayed by the MOCOM.

Since the new law has only just been hatched, the rules, guidelines and processes attached to it are still being a work in progress. Also, its effectiveness on the Chinese M&A activity can not be completely estimated yet.

Therefore, Coca-Cola is being watched like a hawk at the moment, in the hope to give some insight into the future application of this legal development.

Sorting out the Pork

Amber Butler-Davis (Staff Reporter)

In late September, local meat processors were warned that the ban of pork importation could be imposed by the Department of Agriculture. This ban could highly affect the supply of meat products especially so close to the holiday season. The Daily Inquirer stated how the Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (PAMPI) asked Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap to immediately life the suspension of veterinary quarantine clearance (VCQ) processing for pork import applications for manufacturing-grade parts of pork in the soonest possible so we can catch up our inventory build up of processed meats intended for the holiday season.

Earlier in September, Yap ordered the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to suspend the VCQ from distributing pork, this came in the response to the appeal of Representative Nicanor Briones and an “influential group of hog raisers.” Apparently, Briones is blaming PAMPI for imported pork being present at wet markets.

Local meat processors have raised their concerns about the suspension of pork importation and how it was made without conducting a dialogue between PAMPI members and the hog raisers, or the DA and BAI, or among the three parties.

In letter from PAMPI to Yap it stated how “It is fearful to think that the DA would actually decide to sacrifice the meat processing industry so that you could submit to the pressures that Congressman Briones and the hog raisers have applied upon your department.” PAMPI explains how the suspension of pork importation will affect the delivery and manufacturing- grade parts which are needed by meat processors in the industry. These pieces include pork bellies, fats, offal and skin/rind.

In the meantime, the BAI has showed data that explains how pork importation has reached over 83,000 metric tons since the 13th of September. In 2007 at the same time pork importation had only reached 79,381 tons. While the pork import value does seem quite high this year PAMPI explains how this can not trace the importation of the manufacturing-grade pork parts alone.

Instead, the group has claimed that the high quantity of pork importation this year is however due to the increase in the shipments of cuts that meat processors do not import. PAMPI has noted that the importation of pork cuts alone had in fact reached 23.76 million kilo in August 2008.

Bejing Correspondent

Premier: “Govt responsible in tainted milk incident”

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has agreed that his government is partly responsible for the tainted milk. The Premier is particularly concerned about the industry regulation and that this incident will be handled seriously and will make sure that lessons will be learnt from it.

In an interview with Bruce Alberts, the editor in chief of the Science Magazine of the United States, the Premier stated that his government will strengthen legislation in every phase of food production. From the farm to the dinner table is now put under strict supervising according to the law. Important steps in making milk products, production of raw milk, collection, transportation, processing and making formula all should have clear standards and testing requirements plus corresponding and legal responsibilities. But it seems that the government was not regularly checking to see if these steps were being practiced.

Wen told Alberts that it is absolutely impermissible to sacrifice people’s health and lives in exchange for temporary economic development. The Premier strongly believes that his government will be able to successfully lead the people through the difficulties caused by the tainted milk incident. The government is also looking into and is going to draw up plans for the revival of China’s food industry. The Premier has vowed to make the ‘made in China’ brand safe again.

In late September, Beijing tried to restore confidence after an outburst of reports said that the industrial chemical melamine had been found in milk product. However, after testing 47 different brands of milk and other dairy products and finding not a trace of the chemical that has made nearly 53,000 children sick, the Premier has now vowed to ensure that the ‘Made in China’ brand will be safe for consumers at home and internationally.

The Premier feels that his government will be able to make the whole ‘Made in China’ brand worry-free and reputable for not only the Chinese market but also for the people around the world. China has been desperately trying to contain the information of the contaminated milk scandal because it has had a global repercussion. Many countries around the world have been rushing to ban or even stop importing dairy products from China.

By the 26th of September, the European Union had decided to stop importing baby food that contained traces of milk and Hong Kong had ordered a recall for two of the products that were found positive when tested for the industrial chemical melamine, surprisingly one of those brands was Heinz baby food.

Even though China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision told AFP the following day that they had checked another 296 different dairy products from brands across the country’s major cities and that none of these products contained traces of the chemical. The EU and Hong Kong are sticking with the ban of milk products from China. And can you blame them. Over 7,000 tons of contaminated dairy products have been removed from shops across China.
China’s Commerce Minister, Chen Deming made a statement on the central government website saying that it is extremely important to restore the confidence of consumers, especially those interested in the countries milk product brands. The only way that this can be achieved is through effective monitoring and detection
Still, 176 new cases have emerged from China claiming that children have fallen ill after drinking the contaminated milk. Shanghai authourities also revealed that nearly five percent of children under the age of three have shown symptoms for possible kidney stones after being fed milk powder products tainted with the industrial chemical. Taiwan has reported that three young children had developed kidney stones and one of the children’s mother had also fallen ill after drinking Chinese milk formula. Plus in Hong Kong, five cases have been reported of children falling ill from drinking the tainted milk products.
Professors at Lanzhou University in Northwest China are working around the clock to perfect a newly developed chemical substance that will be able to detect the industrial chemical melamine quickly and cheaply. Any dairy farmer can use the substance and it will detect any traces of melamine within 20 minutes. The government in Gansu province was the ones to ask the university id they would be able to develop such a substance.
Hopefully, China will be able to export their milk and dairy products soon without having to place such warning labels like ‘Keep out of reach from children’ or instead of ‘may contain traces of nuts’ we could be finding such labels as ‘may contain traces of melamine’

Osaka Bureau

Fad in Japana take off like no other place on the planet. Take the craze of deco-tora sweeping the transport carriers of the country. Trucks lit up like Christmas trees or Manilla Jeepneys gone mad are to be found at night in every road side servo.

And now the whole place has gone Bananas! Literally. It is very difficult to find a shop with an adequate stock of bananas in Japan because of the “banana diet” craze. Normally stores can hardly get rid of this boringly classified fruit but the new banana diet has taken grip to such a degree that the importers can no longer get sufficient supply.

Getting out and about in Japan you would wonder why the population by and large the anithesis of obese and hardly weighing in more than 40 Kg dripping wet would want a diet. But that seems on the surface as the fast food rage has got the better of the younger people.

According to one credit card issuing company employee Ryuji Yamamoto “after college I simply put on the kilos. I tried every sport and ran every morning before work but the kilos came off in grams and not very many. After trying the banana diet for less than a year he lost over 12 kilograms!

This was due to a colleague recommending a breakfast of only raw bananas and water which supposedly boosts the metabolism so well that one can eat or drink almost everything for the rest of the day. However nutritionists claim that the diet is questionable and there is no clinical evidence to support it.

“Bananas and water for breakfast can hardly do any hard though”, they said.

Yamamoto said “it’s easy and cheap and far better than having to find time in my busy day to work out.”

Needless to say the best selling books in Japan now are banana diet books, as if one would need to read up on it but obviously so as one particular version has sold more than half a million copies!

Of course a Japanese businessman would seriously have to change habits away from after office drinking sessions; late night train rides home; a half hearted attempt at a midnight dinner before slouching on the tatami and of course a carefully balanced diet and regular excercise is well known to be the best thing for you.

Well the best of us can only go bananas for a short time. Peel it and see!.