Whatever It Takes To Keep Chinese Bean Sprouts Looking Fresh: Cancer, Osteoperosis, Early Puberty
As winter approaches, so does the high season for bean sprouts in many parts of China. But it also heralds a fresh round of safety scares. Using cancer-inducing additives to increase bean sprouts’ appeal to buyers has become an unwritten rule for processors, a Xinhua news agency investigative report said yesterday.
A raid on three underground workshops in the northern city of Tianjin earlier this month uncovered banned chemicals including growth stimulants, antibiotics, bleaching powder and preservatives used to whiten bean sprouts and keep them looking fresh.
AB powder, one of the commonly used agents, contains 6-Benylaminopurine or 6-BAP, and Gibberelin, or GA, said Shen Zhaohui, an official with the national bean sprouts industry association. Shen said bean sprouts laced with these substances pose high risks of causing early puberty, menstrual cycle changes, osteoporsis, and could even cause cancer.
Zhang Yonggui, owner of one of the Tianjin underground workshops, told Xinhua: “We have been adding these to bean sprouts for generations. It is known across the industry and nothing new. I never heard a license is required for producing bean sprouts.”
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http://www.shanghaidaily.com/national/Health-alert-as-season-for-bean-sprouts-approaches/shdaily.shtml
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