Tainted ginger a health hazard

China Central Television recently reported that farmers in Weifang city, Shandong province, have been using shennongdan, a highly toxic pesticide made from aldicarb, in ginger fields. It's even shocking to know that shennongdan-contaminated ginger was meant to be sold only in domestic markets, because the farmers dare not use toxic pesticides in fields where ginger is grown for exports because foreign countries have extremely strict inspection standards for chemical residue, says an article in the Beijing News. Excerpts:

The different types of pesticides used in ginger fields show how lax regulation and inspection of food safety is in China. Though authoritative test reports are yet to confirm how dangerous shennongdan-contaminated ginger sold in the market is, experts say that 50 milligrams of aldicarb is enough to kill a person weighing 50 kilograms.