These 10 Toxic Food Items Made in China are Very Dangerous for Your Health

China is popular worldwide for its fine cuisine and many dishes. However, its food industry has been in the news from time to time due to wrong reasons. Several organizations and companies have issued alerts to the public to avoid foods imported from China. This is mainly because China has gained notoriety for their inventiveness in creating outrageously toxic food products that are very harmful to the health. The counterfeit food items are enriched with banned chemicals, plastic and unhygienic products. Consumption of these food items can have severe physical and mental consequences, starting from harm to the digestive system to damage of the hormones. Here are the top 10 toxic food items made in China that are very dangerous for your health. 1. Processed Mushrooms If you love to eat mushrooms, especially canned mushrooms, then you need to be extra careful. The news of toxic mushrooms came into the limelight in 2006 when 16 diners were hospitalized after eating a poisonous variety of boletus mushrooms in Beijing. After eating the toxic mushrooms, the diners suffered from nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and dizziness. Since then, several people have suffered from food poisoning due to mushroom consumption. In the U.S., 34 percent of processed mushrooms are from China. Some of these are toxic mushrooms and are even labeled as organic to increase sales. In 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) refused 10 shipments of canned mushrooms from China due to pesticide contamination. This resulted in the Chinese government halting exports of canned mushrooms to the U.S. To be on the safe side, always buy raw, organic, locally grown mushrooms or those from trusted American-based or Canadian-based farms. 2. Soy Sauce News reports have circulated stating that several Chinese manufacturers exported cheap soy sauces made from human hair to the U.S. and UK markets. These cheap soy sauces were manufactured using a chemical amino acid extraction process similar to artificially hydrolyzed soy sauces. The amino acid syrup (or powder) was generated from human hair, gathered from salons, barber shops and hospitals from different parts of the country. In China, the government banned production of soy sauces made from hair. An investigation found another toxic ingredient present in soy sauce – bacillus cereus. Within 10 to 12 hours of ingesting this toxic element, a person may experience nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and watery diarrhea. According to tests carried out by the UK’s Food Standards Agency in 2001, the chemicals 3-MCPD and 1,3-DCP were also found in most of the soy sauce products imported from China. Both these harmful chemicals are banned from all food because they are toxic to genes, as well as act a carcinogenic. Intake of these chemicals is linked to higher risk of liver cancer. Do not go for cheap soy sauce. Invest in a high-quality product. If possible, avoid using soy sauce completely. 3. Turbot Fish Turbot fish is a common fish farmed in China and exported to the U.S. market. In fact, more than 80 percent of the turbot fish in America comes from China. This fish is one of the most toxic and unhealthy types of fish that you can eat. China’s farmers and fish farmers use dangerous levels of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides – including banned chemicals –to increase their productivity. These chemicals can remain on foods long after harvesting and processing. Normal fish-farming technologies are not sufficient to prevent disease in turbot fishes that have weak immune systems. Plus, most of the fish are farmed in small pools of waste water, which is highly polluted. In 2006, officials from the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration found carcinogenic nitrofuran metabolites in the fish and Beijing found additional drugs, including malachite green, in its fish. In fact, a 2009 study conducted by the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture found some alarming facts like the presence of harmful veterinary drug residues in Chinese farm-raised seafood. Along with turbot, tilapia is another common fish farmed in China that should be avoided. 4. Garlic 5. Cabbage 6. Wuchang Rice 7. Apple Juice 8. Industrial Salt 9. Green Peas 10. Tofu