Chinese ginger latest food scare

Aug 1 2007

In yet another food scare consumers have been warned about ginger imported from China which contains a toxic chemical.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) says the toxic chemical called aldicarb sulfoxide was found in fresh ginger from China; aldicarb sulfoxide is a pesticide that is not approved for use on ginger.

The product is known to have been distributed to Albertson's stores and Save Mart stores in northern California by the Christopher Ranch Food Company of Gilroy, California; it was shipped to Washington, Oregon, California, Michigan, and Louisiana.

CDPH and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are trying to trace the full distribution of the product and to identify other retail stores that may have received the ginger.

Currently, there are no reports of illness associated with the contaminated ginger but consumers who may have purchased this product are advised to discard it.

Aldicarb sulfoxide is a potent neurotoxin and though it is not carcinogenic, at high doses it can result in nausea or dizziness.

Symptoms of aldicarb poisoning usually occur within the first hour following exposure and can include nausea, headache, and blurred vision, which usually disappear within 5 or 6 hours.

Higher levels of ingestion can cause dizziness, salivation, excessive sweating, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle stiffness and twitching, and difficulty in breathing.

Individuals who may have consumed this product and have any of the above symptoms should contact their doctor immediately.

Japanese officials recently reported as much as 25 tons of the product was allowed into the country by mistake.

California officials discovered the tainted ginger in random samples taken from an Albertsons supermarket near Sacramento but do not state how the product entered the U.S.

Ginger is a spice commonly used in cooking and China is the major supplier to the world.

Last year the U.S. imported 32,000 tons of it, mostly from China.