Soaked in Mysterious Liquid... China Faces New Controversy Over "Dyed Lettuce" After "Carcinogenic Cabbage" Scandal

Growing Concerns Over Food Safety in China

Controversy has arisen after companies in China were caught attempting to enhance the marketability of stem lettuce by applying coloring agents.

"For the Color"… Lettuce Soaked in Unknown Liquid

Companies in China were caught dyeing stem lettuce by soaking it in coloring agents before distribution. The Chinese platform Bilibili...

According to local media outlets such as China's CCTV, on September 5, a blogger surnamed Zhang, who creates food-related content, released a video on Chinese social networking services (SNS) showing workers in a vegetable warehouse in Weizhong County, Gansu Province, soaking stem lettuce in an unidentified liquid.

Zhang claimed that he visited 13 vegetable warehouses, and in more than half of them, he witnessed workers immersing stem lettuce in unknown liquids. At one of the locations, he also found a product labeled as a "compound colorant."

He explained that the reason vendors dye stem lettuce is to cover yellowing or surface damage that occurs during harvesting or storage, thereby making the appearance and color of the product more uniform.

As the controversy escalated, local authorities conducted inspections of 53 vegetable storage and distribution companies. Among these, it was confirmed that six companies used coloring agents during the washing and sorting process to improve the external appearance of lettuce. Authorities confiscated and disposed of a total of 11.8 metric tons of stem lettuce on site.

Last Month, 'Carcinogenic Cabbage' Scandal... Ongoing Food Safety Concerns in China

Meanwhile, a series of food safety controversies have been unfolding in the Chinese food market. Last month, it was revealed that some cabbage vendors in China soaked cabbages in formaldehyde solution to extend freshness by an additional two to three days during long-distance transportation, sparking public outrage.

Formaldehyde is a highly irritating, colorless chemical. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), under the World Health Organization (WHO), classifies formaldehyde as a Group 1 carcinogen, meaning there is sufficient evidence that it can cause cancer in humans.

Authorities tracking the distribution routes of the problematic cabbages found that they had been distributed to Jiangsu and Anhui provinces. Subsequent sample inspections conducted at various markets by local governments revealed that most samples did not contain residual formaldehyde. However, it could not be confirmed whether the cabbages tested were from the same batch as those that caused the controversy.

As concerns mounted, Chinese authorities instructed local governments to conduct special inspections of fresh agricultural products such as cabbage and strictly crack down on the illegal use of preservatives.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.