Food Sampling Inspections Are Conducted on a

Lead: Are pesticide residues in lettuce excessive? Does my favorite hot pot restaurant's broth contain poppy shells? On May 7th, the Deyang Municipal Food and Drug Administration launched its "You Choose, We Inspect" public experience day event. Fruits, vegetables, and hot pot were the most concerning items for a "sampling observation team" of over ten citizens.

The Tianshan Road Market in Deyang city was the first stop for sampling that day. Bananas, strawberries, cucumbers, lettuce, cherries, and loofah were the first six varieties of food sampled. Staff drove a mobile food testing vehicle into the market to conduct on-site testing. The testers weighed and chopped the samples, placed them in containers, added extraction liquid, and shook them at a constant speed for about 10 minutes. After the samples and extraction liquid were fully mixed, enzymes and other substances were added and poured into test tubes. After incubation in a constant temperature incubator for 30 minutes, the rapid testing instrument results showed that none of the six varieties had excessive pesticide residues.

Subsequently, the "sampling observation team" followed law enforcement officers into the kitchen of a hot pot restaurant on Guihu Street, where they sampled four batches of hot pot broth. Enforcement officers presented a box of "poppy shell rapid test cards" resembling test strips. They dripped a drop of broth from a sample of hot pot base into the sample well. The test card showed two purple-red bands, indicating a "negative" result, meaning no illegal addition of papaverine was found.

On the same day, the observation team also sampled several cakes and some eggs. "These need to be sent to a professional laboratory for testing, and the results will be released to the public after 20 working days," said a relevant official from the Deyang Municipal Food and Drug Administration. Since Deyang launched the "You Choose, We Inspect" food safety voting campaign from April 15th to May 5th, a total of 5,866 people have participated. Besides fruits and vegetables and hot pot, which received high attention on the first day of the event, the voting results showed that cooking oil, pork, rice and its products (including rice noodles), infant formula, tofu, potato and puffed foods, liquor, beverages, mineral water, and frozen foods were also categories of concern to citizens. "We will adjust and supplement this year's annual food sampling plan for the city based on public voting results, and promptly publish the sampling results."

Meanwhile, members of the "Sampling Observation Team" also suggested that the food and drug administration increase penalties, enhance public participation and information disclosure, and actively promote the widespread use of rapid testing equipment such as "poppy shell rapid test cards" among citizens.