Would You Eat Foods That Are Made in China

So I've been thinking about this, but would you consume foods that are made in China? I've recently seen videos about practices such as gutter oil, fake foods like spring onions painted green etc. The Chinese origin foods are cheaper than their other counterparts.

I know Coles/Woolworths do stock food items that are made in China, for example:

Essentials Tomato Paste 500g $1.40

Countree Sliced Beetroot In Light Syrup | 420g $1.90

Woolworths Essentials Peanut Butter Crunchy 500g OOS

Just to list a couple of examples.

Is it worth the risk to save a few dollars? I'm assuming that the stock at Woolies/Coles are export quality so it should be ok to consume?

Comments

    • +8

      I was wrong about Mayvers, their peanuts are from Argentina - https://mayvers.com.au/update-in-peanut-origins/

    • +2

      I think most BirdsEye frozen veges are Australian grown, but not all, it pays to read the label.

    • +9

      The worst is ham.

      Made in Australia with 90% imported ingredients.

      That 10% Australia ingredient is salt water haha

      • +6

        Yep, it would be great if they were required to disclose the actual origin of the product

      • +1

        For what its worth, ham will be ~70% of the time sourced from the EU and about ~20% of the time from the USA.

        • I suppose that's not too bad

    • I assume we are consuming alot of Chinese products disguised as "imported ingredients" on labels.

      We are. I basically assume when I see imported ingredients, as they are saying imported from China.

  • +15

    Doesn't bother me at all. Everyone wants their cheap shit, then complain that China is one of the world's biggest polluters. You can't have it both ways.

    • +5

      I think polluation per CAPITA is more important than total output. (despite the fact that China manufactures everything we see).
      You'll be surprised who tops those charts :)

  • +16

    No way. I draw the line at food and try to buy Aussie made where I can. I pay a bit more but as I’ve gotten older I have become way more health conscious.

  • +16

    I would take everything that Serpentza dude says with a grain of salt. He's been pumping out anti-Chinese vids ever since he left China. I suspect he's either being encouraged, farming rageviews, or both.

    In saying that I avoid any food produced in China.

    • -7

      Serpentza

      This dude wasn't mentioned in OP Post, yet you mention him like a schizo fixated delusion. This dude must live in your head rent free like everyday.

      • +2

        gutter oil, fake foods like spring onions painted green etc.

        Painted food and gutter oil are this guys bread and butter. He has multiple videos with multiple millions of views on each discussing the subject. It's a pretty safe guess.

        This dude must live in your head rent free like everyday.

        You're way off base. If you're chatting shit about China you've got a sympathetic ear here it's just the fact that YouTube relentlessly pushes his videos in my recommendations and the fact that he ONLY pumps out anti-Chinese videos now that makes me a bit suspicious.

        Also worth noting is contrary to the OzBargain stereotype I'm an anglo, so I don't have skin in the game defending China. I just have a very sensitive BS alarm.

        • -2

          We just had a pandemic because of China's food safety because they were selling Bushmeat in the middle of Wuhan. Gutter oil was a thing in 2012, in fact street vendors have oil jugs in front of their store to show they are not using Gutter oil. China is a third world country, like south east asia and south asia, sanitation is not even close to a first world countries. However, Chinese eating bushmeat to make their jiji hard or balance their hot or cold Chi has to go.

          The problem is the general public learnt what chabuduo is at a time when Xi overthrew the constitution of the PRC and instituted a tight censorship campaign to make it seem they are superior than the western alliance. Coz back then, when I was in China, CCTV-9 had no problems reporting on gutter oil or baby formula scandals and now in 2023, gutter oil is fake news or "solved" by the government (aka censored) according to detractors.

          • @Yotta00: Did you miss the part where I said "I avoid any food produced in China." or "If you're chatting shit about China you've got a sympathetic ear here"?

            I don't doubt that most of what this guy says is true but I also don't doubt that there is at least a little bias and stretching of the truth going on, hence "I would take everything that Serpentza dude says with a grain of salt".

            If you look through his channel I think it is obvious that he's either (in order of probability) motivated by the $$$/Clicks generated by stoking people's xenophobia, personally has an axe to grind with China, or is being encouraged as part of some sort of propaganda program.

            • -1

              @Cheaplikethebird: He couldn't say a lot of what he really wanted to say about China until he and his family got out of there. I agree you should get info on China from multiple sources, but that doesn't discount the fact he has lived there amongst a lot of the bad stuff that went on, and was most likely in the same chat groups reading it.

    • whats wrong with criticising china?

      • +2

        I'm all for it. Refer to my comment above.

        If you're not suspicious of media even when it supports your views then you're a dumb-dumb.

      • +1

        When people scream bat soup… that's great criticism.
        Lame.

        • -1

          what do you mean? bat soup was everywhere in the news a couple years ago….you couldnt get away from the stuff!

          • +1

            @franco cozzo: The bat soup that was from Palau ? That locals of Palau eat everyday?
            Lmao try hard.

        • +3

          When China dumps nuclear treated water no one questions them or even bats an eye.
          But when Japan does…. Oh no!!! Let's Boycott Japanese seafood.

          Double standards much?

    • +1

      He's been pumping out anti-Chinese vids ever since he left China.

      I used to watch him before he left China, but after leaving China I find his content too unbearable because of how negative it is.

      In saying that, I can understand why someone would only be willing to say negative things about China when they aren't living there. There's been many stories about people who have been harassed or even barred from leaving the country, for criticising china

      • +1

        Serpenza and his mate cowmilk were going to branch out and do more seasian countries riding bikes around visiting Vietnam ect , but after one trip the channel views nosedived so back to old China b roll and stories from expats .
        Main channel is now just the China show , and obviously just for clicks
        Was interesting now hot garbage .

        BTW
        Really I would look after your health ,
        There a reason people say ‘ as long as you have your heath ‘
        It’s the most important thing ,
        Nothing else matters if you loose it .

    • +1

      Totally with @Cheaplikethebird here.

      Serpentza is a content producer chasing views, he will make whatever and say whatever that gets him views. Consider his content rage/click-bait with very little factual content.

      Does china sometimes have food safety problems? Of course, it's a massive country with 1.4B people, of course there will be questionable food manufacturers trying to make a quick buck, but those are very rare exceptions.

      In 2018 there was a bunch of needles found in Australian strawberries, does that mean all Australian strawberries are unsafe?

  • +4

    I avoid it where I can. Why buy chinese garlic or mushrooms when you can buy australian grown.

    Unfortunately you can't make that decision when it comes to restaurants or some products.

    The "Gutter oil" thing is just fearmongering and unrelated to the quality of export food they produce.

  • +3

    It's odd.

    I try to avoid food from China and Vietnam at home.

    I'm a hypocrite because when I'm in China and Vietnam, man the food tastes so fantastic! I'll eat it all lol

    I'll be walking past a dodgy looking street vendor and I'm like let me try that. I avoid any cold, lukewarm food for hygiene reasons, but a steaming hot bowl of bat soup, yes please.

  • +5

    I don't necessarily have an issue with eating food made in China, but generally avoid eating imported food regardless of origin, if it is avoidable (and the price difference isn't stupidly large).

    We have so much farming here that we are net exporters of food, so I don't see the point of eating food that's travelled 10,000km across the world (whilst we export the same + more)

    • +4

      I think buying any bottled water is just a waste of money and also bad for the environment (plastics), let alone buying Evian water which is shipped from 1/2 way around the world.

    • We have so much farming here that we are net exporters of food, so I don't see the point of eating food that's travelled 10,000km across the world (whilst we export the same + more)

      While I agree, I try to buy locally, it does comes down to price for a lot of people. People buy tin tomatoes that are imported because they are cheaper than locally canned ones. Pineapple is the same.

      You have to question the metrics behind some of these products if tomatoes that are canned in the EU and shipped around the world being cheaper than ones canned in your own state!

  • +1

    Hey OP, probably you should run a poll

    • +4

      Ditto.

      Please include: I do not home cook with utensils that are made in China.

      • -1

        I never understood the argument that because you use stuff made in China, all of a sudden they are beyond reproach when it comes to other issues. Yes, half the stuff we have is from China, because A lot has slowly made its way into our lives as a result of globalisation and the CCP basically subsidising everything to kill off the competition.

  • +2

    Our food is no different from theirs, full of soy and seed oils.

    • -2

      By your logic Australian produced baby formula is the exact same in nutrients as Chinese produced formula. And many other products.

  • +3

    ill eat almost anything over indian street food

  • -1

    Nothing to worry about. China is our friend.

    "Establish a common destiny between the Chinese people and other peoples around the world with a "peaceful international environment".

    Coexist well with nature with "energy conservation and environmental protection" policies and "contribute to global ecological safety".

    Adopting new science-based ideas for "innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development".

    "Improving people's livelihood and well-being is the primary goal of development"."

    These are 4 of the 14 commitments of Xi Jinping Thought.

    • Sounds beautiful. The Chinese gov sure does throw threats at other countries and people quite often though. Words vs actions I guess.

      • +7

        Threats.
        Like sanctions, embargos, bombs, conflicts. Lol Wait what country am i talking about :)

        • +2

          I really do like that people seem to be cottoning on to this more these days.

        • -3

          Well threats + constant grey warfare to change the world order, we’ll have to wait and see if China’s end game involves bombs and embargo’s in future. Unlikely to be a “common destiny” with a “peaceful international environment” I’m guessing.

          • +2

            @hornbill: Lol i love your theory crafting.
            Maybe you need to use the last 20 years to help you predict the next 20.
            Last i checked China wasn't borrowing money to build bases all around the world.

            • -1

              @TightAl: It’s not good at all but USA are the world police- of their interests. If China has its way and in some future takes on that role will see how they go about it. They already have bases in Sri Lanka and Cambodia so that’s one similar approach.

              • +1

                @hornbill: I think you should swap US for China and you will get more closer to the truth here.

              • @hornbill: They are also looking to build a Port base in New Guinea that would closer to Qld and NT than Sydney is .
                Have they built a base in the Solomons yet or they just bought the whole place .
                Built a base in Antartica on Australian Territory on kevy07s watch
                Base in UAE for their world’s largest naval fleet
                Also have worlds largest fishing fleet that seems to roam worldwide despite turning off their transponders when fishing sensitive protected areas .
                Check the back of packets of frozen fish in supermarket’s ,likely fresh from the China via Galápagos Islands, South American or African Waters .

                • @beach bum: Thanks for making more BS outrage.
                  FYI the worlds biggest population doesn't have the worlds largest fishing fleet? Stop making everything so grandiose.
                  So China get to invest in PNG's port and it all of a sudden becomes a base? But US Airforce planes and ships use our runways and ports on a daily basis, heck how many thousand of US troops do we have in NT?
                  More outrage please.

                  • @TightAl: Just the facts ,
                    Why don’t you just google us troop numbers in the NT.
                    Do you know why there are so few ?
                    Because it’s a deterrent force , so the future us gov can’t abandon us to our fate .
                    Pine Gap Base in NT has been around for fifty years .
                    I’d be more concerned with sub bases and nuclear waste disposal .

  • +1

    Run a poll, OP.

  • No, if I possibly can.

  • +8

    Ahhh yet another OzRacist post.
    Getting a lot of this trash coming up

  • +9

    OP makes all these half arsed claims and then goes radio silent. OP with a sinister agenda here.

  • +9

    OP asked a question and
    hasn't commented anymore
    since that question.

    • +1

      Xi got him

      • +1

        This is how societal conflict or revolutions take place.

        The instigator taps into what irks people,
        and then allows the people's own discourse and actions,
        end up fulfilling the instigator's objectives,
        whatever that may be.

        Subversion needs useful idiots for its achievement.

        • +1

          Perfectly said. And they've executed it brilliantly too given the discussions here.

  • +4

    A lot of Asian foods I see that attracts me make me look for it’s origin .

    I know too many Chinese that avoid made in China foods, if their own is paranoid about their own foods it’s a red flag for me.

    • Same here.
      The Chinese people i know tell me that they avoid Chinese produced foods and prefer Western products if given the choice. They believe that Western food and safety standards are higher and that more checks are carried out here to ensure that those standards are being upheld.
      Many of them cite examples like the infant formula scandal.

      • +3

        China will literally kill you if you sell dodgy medicine/food now.
        Those involved in this milk scandal are all dead. If that isn't a deterrent, I don't know what is.

        • It's just one example. An extreme one though.
          What's more concerning for many people is that rules and regulations aren't always followed and compliance isn't always checked. Hence so many Chinese that I speak to who say that when given the choice they prefer food produced in other countries.

          • @Bystander: I'd say it's pretty hard, 1B people. It would definitely be challenging.
            As an example, we have 25M and we can't even regulate/check compliance for our houses. I think it's a wide world issue and China just happens to be making everything and anything.

            • -1

              @TightAl: That's erroneous, we are checking the buildings that are being built. There's actually a lot of Chinese companies that are opening up and folding in Australia that are into construction.

              The fact there's a lack of building surveyor's is also a problem. Thing is we have the protocols and standards in place but not enough staff to attend to all the issues.

              In China though there is no such regulation. It's really determined by the parent company who erects the buildings.

              • +1

                @nobro25: The funny thing is, everyone keeps coming up with something that happened in 2008.
                The world has changed since then.

    • +1

      I know too many Chinese that avoid made in China foods, if their own is paranoid about their own foods it’s a red flag for me.

      Basically this…. If people that lived in the country are actively seeking to avoid eating the food, they you gotta question why!

  • +2

    I mainly eat whole foods and plant based. So don't get much exposure to these cheap added ingredients from overseas. I try to eat fresh or frozen and in season - none of these say grapes or cherries from the US out of season (I'm trying to minimise my environmental footprint).

    I also avoid food coming from countries with a lot of pollution and also limited regulations/consumer monitoring and complaint around herbicide/pesticide use - which is many Asian countries.


    I'd swap your products for Italian tomatoes and byproducts, Argentinian peanuts and Aussie beets.

  • -5

    Having lived in China for work and lost 4kg in under a year while eating more by weight in food but so much less in nutritional value, I do try and avoid eating food made in China.

    The people in China I find do not want to buy local produce when they can. They want meat from Argentina or Australia, milk formula from NZ, vitamins and supplements from Canada or Australia. They know they spray herbicide etc. on their fresh produce to increase output and regulating that in a country so large means not all of it is being controlled. People often still prefer street sellers of vegetables and meat as these are less processed.

    When I shop in Asian Supermarkets, I try to avoid the made in China but won't exclude it entirely.

    • +6

      Lol the only reason you lost weight is because the food was less processed, more soy/vegetable based and fair more variety.

      I lost weight coming back from Japan over 2year living there, does that mean we should avoid sushi?

      My time in China was absolutely delicious. Chicken was superb. All this hysteria and people believing edge cases and psy-op videos are just setting themselves up on missing out.

      • -3

        I'm of Asian background. I eat rice pretty much daily in Australia, don't eat lots of processed food here. Not overweight when I started, I'm a runner and cyclist.
        Eating work canteen food in a tier three city in China, let's say I ate like a local, not like an expat or a tourist. You can find delicious, amazing food for certain if you go to restaurants etc.

        I enjoyed my time there greatly. People and experiences are like nothing else you get in Australia. Just would have to focus more on your diet over there if you wanted to maintain a certain build.

    • +1

      Strange, it was the opposite for me, lived there for 3 months and I definitely put on at least a couple of kilos.

      • -1

        That can happen. Your experience vs mine. I know it is what I experienced and it's being neg'd but we all have different scenarios, areas of China etc. I was in the South.

  • +1

    Depends entirely on what what food I'm purchasing.

    I'm just going to assume we aren't talking about fresh produce as i don't know enough about that in china.

    As someone that has had products made in china i am well aware that the blanket term of "made in china" isn't enough detail to determine if something is good quality….much like how if something is made in Australia it doesn't automatically mean its good quality. In china, you have good factories & bad factories, Some of the best and highest quality products are made in china….much like how some of the lowest quality products are also made there.

    I know its asking a lot to research every factory that you're buying your product from, but if you want an easy (but not 100% success rate) of picking good from bad quality from china, go by the brand name. If its a reputable brand with a lot to lose, they tend to use the better factories, because they don't want the bad press and are aware of the financial and reputational impacts of getting something really low quality. Contrary to what people believe, the reputable brands don't actually go for the lowest bidder, they go for the factory that has produced them consistently good results at a reasonable price, if there are minimal issues then they will continue to use that factory.

  • +1

    Almost every manufactured food and fast food in Australia uses Chinese ingredients, so you eat them all the time. Also if they only used local, you wouldn't buy them because the price would be too high compared to those who used foreign ingredients.

  • +3

    I do. Most of the cusines that we enjoy today were originated from places like China anyway.

  • +4

    OP also has a Tesla. Asked how to degrade the battery

    Breaking news! It is made in China too

    • +2

      Just like your iPhone, its designed in the USA, made in China.

  • +2

    Inbred post

  • +2

    Not all things made in China are bad but i never have food made in China as i dont want to risk my health even it is quite very small. There are a lot of horrible stories about it.

    • +3

      I was in China for 2 weeks in December, ate out everyday because I’m lazy, never even had diarrhoea. Don’t order from dodgy street venders and you’ll be fine.

      Also China’s KFC was so damn good, they actually give a shit.

      • +3

        Yep I experienced the same.
        Going to SEA/Bali is a different story LoL

        • +1

          Eating at SEA is a game of Russian roulette.

  • Only Wuhan bat soup

  • +1

    The amount of people that don’t understand the fact there is an import standard and regulations is disgusting.

    Anything imported here must meet the Australian standard. Period.

    • -1

      Like Volkswagen’s ?

      • Sorry don’t know anything about cars, however I was talking about food. If something, like a type of food was approved and it sucked and was bad, why was it approved?

  • +2

    You op definitely are one of the kinds that china don’t want visiting,
    your questions like asking anyone if you should eat anything when they go to china, I don’t think the billions of people are dying from their own food,
    and would like to know what such proud country you come from?

  • Yes… I occasionally stop buy Asian groceries and try the most random snack foods and beverages I find - random dried marinated squid/fish jerky. Precooked marinated quail eggs, all their random flavors of chips. Not just Chinese food, but Korean, Thai, whatever. Great fun.

    So that being said I'm probably the last person to care about where my tomatoes in my spag bol sauce were grow.. or the mash potatoes with me bangers were grown.

    OP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHl3S36CWSQ

  • +1

    Everyone here commenting should know ops goal of posting masked Sinophobic forums probably to recruit fascists people of anti-diversity like minds like you see happening in euro countries filled with internal racist euro cucks.

  • Well if you are so worried, you may need to look at what you purchase

    Most Bacon/ Ham these days is derived from Pork that is imported from China. It can be called Australian as it was processed into whatever the final form is you are buying

  • -1

    No I would not purchase food products from China, remember the baby formula scandal?

    Happy to buy non food products from China & even then i consider quality control of product before choosing to buy.

    Purchased a car made in China for my wife, has all the features required and had a 5 star safety rating with seven year warranty.

    Only disappointment so far is the fuel consumption against its claimed consumption, but i note there are other car manufactures that have the same issues.

    This vehicle is not tuned for Australian roads though but as the vehicle is only used for local shopping and just typically 5000kms per year it will do for now.

  • Never paid an attention to it myself, but there is WAY MORE food products like this.

    Here are some google search phrases for ya:

    • for Coles:

      site:coles.com.au/product/ "Product of China"

    • for Woolies:

      site:woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/ "Produced in China"

  • +2

    Of course I would and Do and almost certainly 99%+ of everyone on this forum does to or do you believe your favourite fast food companies, restaurants, snack food makers etc etc only ever use expensive Australian made goods? OP seems to have some serious Xenophobic issues.

  • i'm pretty sure you are already eating stuff made in china everyday, with the amount of micro-plastics contaminating food and water

    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/28/japanese-scientists…
    https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2024/01/09/sustaina…

  • +1

    My spouse is 32 year old Chinese from Beijing and will not purchase or allow me to eat any manufactured packaged product from Coles or Woolworths that is made in China. The Chinese eat fresh not from the freezer. There are no rules or laws about sanitation however the important thing is not to kill people if you are a manufacturer in China. That is why they like to buy Australian powdered tinned milk because many children died from Chinese powdered milk. Just saying.

  • +1

    Of course.

  • No

  • +1

    Yes. 1.4b Chinese folk can't be wrong.

  • +4

    As if there's any difference between that and the processed western junk that caused the health issues and obesity epidemic.

  • Happy to eat Chinese food from China. Pickled vegetables, hot chilli oil, etc.

    Other foods like fresh produce, I'd choose local over foreign.

  • -1

    If given a choice, I'm happy to pay double for a product not made in China. Some products there is no choice so I just live with it.

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