Despite recent attempts to regulate the food industry and improve hygiene standards, new figures from China’s Ministry of Health show incidents of serious food poisoning remain high. Our reporter Andrew Livingstone shines the spotlight on food safety progress in China.

The 2008 toxic milk scandal was one of the worst food safety scandals in recent history. The chemical melamine, used in making plastics and fertilizers, had been added to watered-down milk, in order to raise protein levels and fool food safety inspectors.

The tainted milk powder was responsible for the deaths of at least six babies and caused illness in around 300,000 people.

It also caused a collapse in public confidence in food safety, brought the ever-sensitive topic of political corruption to the fore once more, as well as severely damaging the reputation of China's exports, with 11 countries stopping all imports of Chinese dairy produce.

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Food Safety Concerns

The economic crisis has forced a lot of families to cut back on the amount of high-priced organic food they buy. The growth in the US organic market has dropped from 24% at the beginning of 2008, to just 1% this year. In China, however, the organic food market is still recording double-digit growth. Elise Potaka reports on how a scares over tainted food scandals and hazardous agricultural chemicals are sparking a new consumer trend.

Today David Moser invites guests with perspectives up for debate. Today's topic is genetically modified foods. Are GM foods beneficial to society? Are there issues with safety? Where does China stand on GM foods?

Now usually in our Netcheck section we look at online reaction to a story or event here in China which has got web users buzzing. But today’s a little different. And that’s because the story of a little American girl, Julie Murphy and her lemonade stand in Portland Oregon, really seems to have struck a chord with Chinese net users. 7-year-old Julie ran into a little official trouble when she set up her stall at a fair in Multnomah County, Oregon. County Health Inspectors threatened Julie and her mother with a $500 fine for not having a food safety licence. Uproar followed with reports in the New York Times and National TV. But the story ended happily with an apology from County Chairman Jeff Cogen. He also told health inspectors to use "professional discretion" when enforcing food-safety laws intended for adults in commercial businesses. So why the big reaction here in China? Well let’s cross over to the newsroom and ask our researcher Quincy Hsiao who’s been following the story.

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