Under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party, food safety and drug safety in China have long been criticized. Official sources recently claimed that the pass rates for food safety evaluation sampling reached 99.2%, while drug sampling pass rates remained above 99%. However, this announcement has sparked mockery among mainland Chinese internet users. Some official media reports have restricted comments on the matter.
According to a report by CCTV News on December 23, the nationwide Market Supervision Work Conference stated that the overall safety situation of the “three products and one special” (food, drugs, key industrial products, and special equipment) is “stable.” The pass rate for food safety evaluation sampling was reported at 99.2%, with further improvements noted in categories such as meat, poultry, aquatic products, and vegetables. The pass rate for drug sampling remained above 99%.
In response to the official use of sampling to illustrate pass rates, mainland internet users have been quick to mock:
“Giving yourself a score of 99, leaving that one point so you don’t get too proud.”
“This is a self-deception game.”
“Are they sampling from an ocean?”
“It’s a prosperous era.”
“If it’s not sampled, it doesn’t count.”
“All cases of glaucoma.”
“It must be 100%, they are being humble.”
“Too fortunate.”
“The imagined parallel world truly cannot be understood.”
“Whether you believe it or not, I do.”
Some official media reports have restricted comments below their articles.
Phoenix Net titled their article “China’s food safety and drug pass rates both exceed 99%”, but some media outlets have made it clear that these are sampling pass rates.
Furthermore, there have been cases where the pass rates are even more remarkable. Guangxi official media released news on the 24th stating that “Guangxi’s drug evaluation sampling pass rate for 2024 has reached 100%.”
A video report circulating among internet users from an official media outlet claimed that “Chinese food is the safest in the world” and that the pass rate is close to 100%.
Over the years, China has seen various incidents involving tainted vaccines, toxic milk powder, and recycled cooking oil from sewage drains, which have been widely known. The shocking 2008 Chinese tainted milk powder incident, where many infants consuming Sanlu Group milk powder were found to have kidney stones containing industrial chemicals melamine and cyanuric acid, is just one example.
In early July of this year, mainland China’s oil tank transportation industry was exposed for transporting cooking oil without proper cleaning after transporting coal, involving state-owned enterprises like Sinograin. Public opinion likened this to “poisoning.” However, reports on this malpractice date back as far as 2013.
In October of this year, the rancid meat incident in a Kunming school cafeteria became a hot topic on mainland Chinese social media. Additionally, incidents of mass student poisoning and the issue of recycled cooking oil have resurfaced.