Latest quality checkups show 99.5 percent of China's moon cakes
are up to scratch, the nation's top quality watchdog said on
Tuesday.
Moon cakes are special snacks Chinese people eat at the
traditional Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15 in the lunar
calendar each year. The festival falls on September 25 this
year.
The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection,
and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said it has checked a total 425 types of
moon cakes made by 378 firms in 29 Chinese provinces.
Those that failed safety tests were found either with excessive
microorganisms and food additives, or with problematic labeling,
the AQSIQ said.
The AQSIQ added it has ordered local branches to dispose the
unsafe moon cakes and their manufacturers to fix the problems in a
fixed period of time.
The top quality watchdog will continue to strengthen its
clampdown on excessive coliform and food additives in the moon
cakes in the run-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival.
(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2007)