Vigilantes for safe food

China's Compiled Food Safety Incidents includes many scandals in the food industry. Photo provided to China Daily

Then they visited farms, wholesale markets, supermarkets and random food vendors in nine provinces, and compared China's food safety standards with those of the US and European Union.

"We found there isn't a big gap in standards, but the biggest problem in China lies in enforcement," says Chen Qiaoling.

"For example, the first Sudan Red (an industrial dye barred from being used in food in China) scandal happened 10 years ago. But when I searched online, there are still reports of similar scandals in the years after."

During their investigation, she says, they told some of their interviewees that they were working on a dissertation and wanted to know more about the industry.

That way, they learned many "open secrets" of China's food industry.

For example, some small hotpot restaurants add opium poppy pods to broths to enhance flavor. The prohibited spice can be bought online.

"Many restaurant bosses told me that, in their trade, if you act honestly, you lose customers because your prices are too high," says Chen.

Today, there are some 20 volunteers in the team that Chen Qiaoling leads, writing reports and operating the online platform.

She believes that, besides governments ensuring stricter enforcement, the public should not remain indifferent toward the issue.

"Food safety is a social issue. The government, businesses and the public should all share the responsibility of solving problems," she says.