Ok so everything is made in China... and for most part of it, I'm fine with it.
My handphone is a XiaoMi. It's a good phone. Cheap and good.
Clothes, Trump merchandise, shoes, furniture, etc... so many things all made in China.
And I like it. They might not be the best quality, but I can buy more than 2 sets with the money I have saved as compared to buying 1 higher quality item...
Think about iPhone X vs XiaoMi... no comparison in price. For my purposes, I don't mind XiaoMi.
However, I draw the line on food. I'm pretty fussy over stuff I consume.
I don't use Ajinomoto, (that's pure MSG), I also avoid buying any food with added MSG in it. Unless there's really no reasonably priced substitute.
I know MSG is a natural salt which is found in some food, I just don't like it that manufacturers add more MSG to my food.
So when I buy my stuff from the supermarket or whatever, I tend to look closely at the ingredients and where they are made from. There are some stuff which are more expensive but I'm willing to buy it if it doesn't contain MSG. Except for oyster sauce/abalone sauce. Most of these sauces have MSG. There is one substitute at $30 (I think)... NO WAY... So for oyster sauce, I have no choice but to buy with MSG. Cos a reasonably priced substitute doesn't exist...
Ok anyway... back to made in China...
I went to China couple of years back and talked to the tour guide for a bit. I commented about the food and fake food and all that. And he said. "Don't say you. Even we are scared of the food that is produced."
He added "People are greedy, they want fast money, so they add all kinds of stuff in the food."
So back in Singapore, I decided that I would avoid China food products if I could. It does give me some inconvenience though...
Ok... I can't say for sure China food products are bad for the individual. I personally am skeptical about China food products cos the people generally cut costs and try to make a quick buck, so I would rather err on the side of caution and just not consume products from China.
I'll go through some of the stuff which I typically look at during my own grocery shopping...
First on the list... braised peanuts.
ALL Singapore braised peanuts come from China. I've tried looking at NTUC, Cold Storage, Giant. They all carry 3 brands, and they are all products of China. Sadly, I have stopped buying braised peanuts. I used to eat them with my porridge, but now... I avoid it when I can.
I went to Taiwan recently. They had braised peanuts... Product of TAIWAN!!! Bought 2 cans back to try. They were nice, but they are slightly more expensive than the made in China products found in Singapore. Next year when I go to Taiwan, I'll buy more back.
Canned sardines/mackerel... Canned tomato mackerel, is similar to sardines. But mackerel is supposed to be a better fish to consume. I've been looking for cheaper alternatives for canned sardines and mackerel. It's pretty easy to find canned sardines cheaply. Ayam Brand isn't really cheap. It's one of the more premium brands. But canned sardines can be found around less than $2 for a full sized can (425gm) which is not made in China. These are typically products from Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Chile.
Mackerels are a different matter. There is almost NO cheap mackerel substitute. Ayam Brand mackerels are from Malaysia, pretty expensive around $3.50. If I see any canned mackerel around $2, I am almost sure that it is from China. If anyone knows of a place where I can buy canned mackerel for around $2 but is not made in China, please message me, I would like to go and buy.
I've also been trying to add seaweed into my diet. It's supposedly good for health. All kinds of seaweeds are supposed to be good for you. So I've been looking around for different types of seaweed at a cheap enough price that I can consume it at a regular basis. Many brands are once again, from China. Well, the cheap ones are all from China, I can find seaweed from Korea or Japan as well but usually those are like $5 for 35gm. That's quite expensive for a small amount, cos I was hoping to consume it quite regularly. So I was a bit disappointed. Then when I was in Taiwan, I saw a large pack around 120gm of Korean seaweed at around S$6, so I brought that back as well. It's pretty good, so next year when I'm there, I'll probably look for it again.
Then there's corn. Those frozen corn nibblets. Once again, the cheapest ones are from China around $1 for 500gm. There are those made in the USA for around 4x the price and I'm not willing to pay 4x more so... Luckily, Ayam Brand has canned corn nibblets at around $1.30 for around 250gm (drained weight) which are a product of Thailand, I'm ok with that. So I get those.
Mushrooms are another product which usually comes from China. Well, the cheaper ones are from China. I just checked my Narcissus mushrooms are from China, I've been careless. I'll have to find another brand to buy. Dried mushrooms as well. The alternative are Japanese/Korean dried mushrooms, usually 2x more expensive. But these can be cheaply found in Johor at Hock Hua, so I bought 4 packets during my last trip to JB. Forgot the price but it was definitely worth buying.
Another item which I used to eat with my porridge is pickled vegetables, it's quite common. Pickled lettuce, mushrooms, etc... most are made in China... Sorry, I'm going to just remove this from my diet. I don't really need to find an alternative for this.
Ok anyway, a lot of the stuff we get are from China these days, and that's fine. They can produce stuff cheaper and some stuff even better, and I recognize that. I even like many China products. They are cheap, great for a frugal person like me.
But no thanks... I will try my best to avoid China made food products.
I've no evidence that China products will make me sick or anything. Maybe it's just a perception. But I'm not taking any risks so I'll be avoiding them, cos some issues maybe only 10 years later then I'll find out.
Maybe it's just me... and that I'm fussy over these kinda things...
Oh. And I fully understand that when I eat out, I have no control over the MSG or the made in China products. So that's just too bad for me. I just avoid it when I can and when I can't then I just close both eyes and eat. Bobian.
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