As if you needed another reason to avoid Chinese foodstuffs, the state of California has put out a call to avoid ginger that’s imported from China. The spicy zing may be coming from illegal pesticides. Of course, at American supermarkets, you don’t always know where your produce is from, unless it has a sticker on it. Which the ginger we bought last week doesn’t.

The California Department of Public Health is warning American consumers not to eat ginger imported from China because it might contain a dangerous pesticide.

The ginger was distributed to Albertson’s and Save Mart stores in Northern California by Christopher Ranch of Gilroy, Public Health Director Mark Horton said in a notice issued Sunday.

Monitors with the state Department of Pesticide Regulation detected the presence of aldicarb sulfoxide, which is not approved for use on ginger in California.

Signs of aldicarb poisoning in humans usually appear within the first hour after exposure, producing flu-like symptoms such as nausea, headache and blurred vision.

Higher levels of poisoning also can cause dizziness, excessive sweating and salivation, vomiting, diarrhea, breathing problems, and muscle stiffness and twitching, health officials said.

Slowly but surely Chinese foodstuffs will kill us all. We really need to start seeing country-of-origin labeling in our supermarkets.

California warns of pesticide-contaminated ginger from China [International Herald-Tribune]
(Photo: JimReeves)

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