Just another example - believe it or not - of the Chinese Party members learning how capitalism works.

Two thing that are crystal clear to anyone learning the system are:

1) Less money out (maintenance, supplies, etc.) == more profit in *my* pocket.
2) Faking/adulterating products makes them more valuable == more profit in *my* pocket.

The most famous example was the sudden spread of AIDS in a province of China. It was found that the guy (local Party member of considerable esteem) who had the blood gathering/testing "franchise" for the area of the province where the AIDS was rampant had found that he saved lots and lots of money by re-using needles and they worked the nth time as well as they worked the first! He was getting rich real fast!

All the things described in the article fit the same situation as described above.


>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17980629/
>
>Yikes:
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>Chemical scares and mass poisonings are common in China, which has been struggling to improve a dismal food-safety record. Manufacturers often mislabel food products or add illegal substances to them. Cooks routinely disregard hygiene rules or mistakenly use industrial chemicals instead of salt and other ingredients.
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>Last year, seven companies were punished for using banned Sudan I dye to color egg yolks red. The industrial dye, a possible carcinogen used for leather, floor polish and other household chemicals, has been found in various consumer products sold in China, such as roasted meat, chili powder and lipstick.
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>In 2004, at least 12 infants died from malnutrition after drinking formula with little or no nutritional value in eastern China’s Anhui province.