California or Chinese garlic?

I have developed a paranoid suspicion of Chinese garlic - or most any Chinese food product, for that matter. We bought a 12 oz. jar of peeled garlic, which was put in the cooler with the Chinese-origin label at the back. Noticed it when we got home, and decided to throw it out.

Their food standards seem so lax, we don't want to risk it - pesticides, etc. Probably have figured out how to incorporate lead in it, too. :(

Mike

It's sad to hear that, because even though there are lots of unscrupulous merchants and manufacturers in China there are also a lot of sincere, hard working people who do not cheat and there are a number of artisan Chinese products who suffer because of the bad press generated by the ones who are doing the ill deeds. Jin Hua ham, a product with at least as much heritage and deliciousness as any prosciutto or pata negro has suffered because of it.

I understand the concerns over inferior and dangerous goods made by greedy and ignorant merchants, but I think it's also unfair to think of China just as the land of cheap knockoffs and inferior food.

Well, I admitted I'm paranoid, didn't I? :crazy:

Still not gonna cut them much slack.

Mike

There's paranoid and there's presuming the Chinese are plotting to try and find ways of putting lead in your food... quite unfortunate, I must say. Products from Hong Kong and Taiwan are more reliable, as are the ones here... but who knows how far the supply chain goes, especially as the product gets more and more refined, even the ones claimed to be made in the US?

Hey, have you heard the one about the Chinese drywall?

It seems that it outgasses fumes that are not only corrosive to metal, but irritating to humans. Apparently a whole lot of people are now living in toxic houses recently built with the material.

And I'm still not gonna eat Chinese garlic. :(

And by the way, a whole lot of frozen orange juice is produced in China. I had a difficult time, just last week, finding a domestic juice. Read the label.

Mike

Added after reading the WSJ story on 4/17: "Homeowner Porblems with Chinese-Made Drywall Spread" on page A4.

Also I googled "Chinese Food Recalls" and it's not pretty.

Here's one of very many hits-
Chinese Food Recalls and Recall Information

Remember the old saying-

"You many not be paranoid - maybe they really are after you"

M

With the lax standards in the States due to pressure of gigantic corporations, i'm suspicious of american foods too. Where greed wins, we all lose, as we've seen often enough to make us all sick.

You hit the nail on the head siduri. I would be less suspicious of Chinese companies and more of the American ones that contract them to do the work. Remember, many of the Chinese companies are only producing what the American lables/companies are formulating here because its cheaper to make it over there.

Oh, and the the OP, the difference is in the type of garlic grown. The domestic family of garlic is stronger than the imported type. If you notice in dry form it is also a different color when processed, thats because of a few things.
1. Its a different type/species of garlic
2. Its allowed a much higher amount of stems and skins to be ground in powder form therefor giving it a bitter aftertaste
3. The growing conditions are different.

I agree with Chef how and now chinese foods and imports are now under more scrutiney then our american products.

Also chefhow I have never used chinese garlic does it look the same ?:chef: