The fact that China is a developing country should not be used as an excuse to develop the nation's food industry at the cost of people's health, said an article in Southern Metropolis Daily (excerpts below).

An official of the Beijing-based National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center said recently: "We are still a developing country. We should set food standards according to China's national conditions. We need to not only protect the people's health, but also encourage the whole food industry to develop healthily."

This statement comes from the mouth of an official of the national food safety authority, whose responsibility is to supervise the food industry and relevant authorities to better protect people's health.

The Food Safety Risk Assessment Center should carry out a thorough investigation into the differences between Chinese food safety standards and those of developed countries, and make suggestions to the Chinese food industry and food safety supervisory departments on how to fill the gap as quickly as possible.

Everyone knows that China is a developing country and there are serious problems with China's food safety. However, the "healthy development" of the Chinese food industry must not come at the cost of people's health. It is a ridiculous logic to say that Chinese consumers cannot have safe food to eat without sacrificing their health.