Chinese authorities have opened an investigation into a bamboo shoot processing plant in Qingyuan, Guangdong Province, after footage surfaced showing the facility fumigating the shoots with sulfur overnight to whiten them. Officials confirmed the allegations, and South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it would step up customs inspections.
Video posted online by a Chinese user on the 18th showed a processing shop in Qingyuan fumigating bamboo shoots with sulfur through the night, Chinese outlet Haibao News reported on the 21st. The whistleblower said the treatment was intended to whiten the shoots and extend their shelf life, and that one sample tested at 4,860 mg/kg of sulfur dioxide. The Qingyuan Municipal Administration for Market Regulation said it had verified the footage and found the claims to be true, and had launched a joint investigation with police and agricultural authorities.
Authorities seized and sealed illegally processed raw materials and finished products and took legal action against those involved. They said they were also tracing distribution channels. Qingyuan is a key production area for ma bamboo (Dendrocalamus latiflorus) shoots in China, and officials said they would conduct a full review of every stage from purchasing to processing and sales.
Sulfur dioxide is not classified as a carcinogen, but inhaling or ingesting large amounts can irritate the respiratory and digestive systems. Air-drying or pickling bamboo shoots normally takes several days, while sulfur fumigation completes the process in a single day. Local media reported that some operators appear to have used the method repeatedly to cut costs and save time.
As the controversy spread, Korea's food safety ministry said on the 20th that no fresh Chinese bamboo shoots are imported into the country as an agricultural product. It said some Chinese bamboo shoots do enter in processed form, such as canned goods, and that it would add inspections by individual manufacturer for a set period on top of existing detailed sulfur dioxide testing at customs.
China has faced repeated food safety scandals in recent months. Last month, authorities uncovered cabbage treated with formaldehyde to preserve freshness and so-called dyed stem lettuce, or gongcai, colored with food dye. The Korean ministry said at the time that it had confirmed through channels including the South Korean Embassy in Beijing that the cabbage and stem lettuce had not been distributed in Korea, and had tightened import inspections accordingly.
