New M&M's chocolate blocks, Oreo Thins - Did you know these are imported to Australia from China?
This is in no way a racist post. Food safety is a serious topic, and one that doesn't get much of a mention in developed countries due to the strong trust most people have in the regulations that are in place to protect us from outright harmful foods.
A large proportion of products we buy are made in China. No problem, market forces mean this is the way it goes. But what about food?
If you look at where most chocolates on your local Woolies or Coles shelves come from, you will see that they are at least made in Australia from imported ingredients. This is slowly beginning to change, with major brands such as MARS and Oreo's (well Oreos have been doing this for a long time) beginning to import some of their range from China.
The example of M&M's is a particularly interesting example as it is a dairy based product. There is a huge market for imported dairy in China due to safety concerns the locals have about local powdered milks - infant formula in particular. For this reason there are thriving small and large businesses that buy up as much powdered infant formula as they can from countries such as Australia, Sweden etc. and send it back to China at a profit. Is Chinese local dairy produce/powder being used in the manufacture of M&Ms chocolate blocks that is exported to Australia? What standards does it conform to?
It is interesting to note that the traditional M&M's are still made in Australia.
To get an idea of the food safety situation in China, a recent YouTube vlog by a long-time China vlogger SerpentZA gives a quick overview of the issue:
This post is aimed at raising awareness that this shift is occurring in foods being sold in major Australian retail outlets. It is likely that if sales of these products are strong despite their origin, the large companies will increase the range of products that are manufactured in China and sold in Australia.
If this concerns you - vote with your feet and don't buy these products.
Cheers and decentralise
strapped
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