The CFDA's official website recently released four batches of 20 food and drug rumors, covering meat, fruits, beverages, vegetables, and more. These include: 1. Pork hookworms that cannot be boiled away; 2. White-shelled eggs are more nutritious; 3. Microwave ovens cause cancer; 4. Instant noodles are 'junk food'; 5. Crayfish are used to dispose of corpses.
Infographic: Zhang Fangman
A Rundown of Food and Drug Rumors in Recent Years:
1. Pork Hookworms 'Cannot Be Boiled Away'
In September 2013, a claim in Longsheng, Guangxi, that 'pork contains hookworms that cannot be boiled away, fried, or killed by high temperatures' went viral online, and in subsequent years, multiple derivative and variant rumors appeared, involving Guangdong, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Sichuan, and other places. For example, the WeChat public account 'Shunsi Network' published on October 23, 2014, 'Pork in Various Regions Has Seen Large-Scale Hookworm Infestation! Many Areas Have Banned Pork!!', and 'Taocun Bangbangle' published on May 31, 2015, 'Attention When Buying Meat: Weihai Market Has Already Seen It, Reduce Pork Consumption as Much as Possible!', and 'Shanwei's Things' published on September 28, 2016, 'A Lady in Shanwei Bought a Piece of Pork and Found This Inside When Cutting It.' In response to this rumor, local Guangxi media first debunked the 'pork hookworm' as false information in 2013, with the Guangxi Daily posting a debunking message on its official Weibo. In early June 2016, the CFDA responded to this rumor, and multiple media outlets including People's Daily Online and Xinhua Net published debunking messages. At the 2016 China Food Rumor Forum held on June 27, the China Food Rumor Alliance released three major food rumors, among which the so-called 'pork hookworm' was confirmed to be nonexistent.
2. SB250 Virus '72 Transformations'
In March 2016, two netizens in Yunnan Province spread a rumor online: 'At 2:21 AM yesterday, a woman died from SB250 virus (variants include SK5, H7N9, etc.), aged 21, and the doctor who participated in the rescue has been quarantined. It is reported that the woman bought grass carp at the market and made pickled fish at home, then felt vomiting and dizziness and was sent to the hospital. CCTV News has broadcast this. Temporarily avoid eating fish, pickled vegetables, especially grass carp, pickled fish, and boiled fish, because 121 fish ponds in Luquan County have been infected.' Since then, multiple versions of this rumor have spread widely on social platforms, with the main content being roughly the same, only changing the time, place, and names. To date, similar rumors have appeared in Yunnan, Shanghai, Fujian, Qinghai, and other places across the country. Food and drug, health, and public security departments in various places, along with the media, have jointly debunked the rumors, and multiple rumor-mongers and spreaders have been punished, but similar rumors continue to spread with increasing intensity.
3. White-Shelled Eggs Are More Nutritious
Before 2005, the claim that 'red-shelled eggs are laid by free-range chickens, so red-shelled eggs are more nutritious than white-shelled eggs' was prevalent in society. In response to this claim, CCTV's health channel aired a program titled 'The Science of Eating Eggs' on September 13, 2006, debunking it, stating that after testing, there was almost no difference in nutrition between eggs with different shell colors. In the following years, the debate over eggshell types and nutritional differences spread widely across the country through the internet, and various types of media, including 'China Food Technology Network,' 'Xinhua News Agency,' and 'Hunan Online,' published articles for science popularization and debunking, but many netizens still questioned on Q&A platforms like 'Baidu Knows' and 'iAsk.' This rumor even topped the 'Top Ten Life Rumors' in 2014 with 10.96 million searches.
4. Microwave Ovens Cause Cancer
On April 23, 2002, Life Times published a short rumor article titled 'Don't Ignore the Hazards of Microwave Ovens,' but it did not become a hot topic due to few reposts. On September 17, 2003, China Youth Daily published a compiled article titled 'Microwave Food Has More Disadvantages Than Advantages and Is Extremely Harmful to Health,' which proposed the more extreme view that microwave food is harmful to health and even carcinogenic. The author's credentials were exaggerated by the translator, and many media outlets reposted it, triggering public doubts about the safety of microwave-heated food. On September 28, science writer Fang Zhouzi spoke out through Sohu Tech, debunking the article for the first time. On December 1, Xinhua Net Tianjin Channel invited government officials and relevant experts to create a special website on microwave knowledge for a comprehensive debunking. In the same year, Sohu Finance characterized the incident as a commercial war of public opinion against domestic microwave oven companies. In February 2013, variant rumors such as 'Please Stop Using Microwave Ovens' and 'The Shocking Secrets Microwave Oven Manufacturers Never Tell You' went viral on social platforms. In response, in April 2013, the China Household Electric Appliance Research Institute, together with the National Food Quality Supervision and Inspection Center, held a press conference on the research results of 'The Impact of Microwave Cooking on Food Safety and Nutrition,' debunking the microwave hazard theory. In May 2014, facing the repeated debunking but still appearing 'microwave ovens cause cancer' false claims, CCTV's 'Focus Report' program on May 12, 2014, fought back, proving that the microwave hazard theory was nonexistent and exposing the originators of the rumor, such as the WeChat public accounts 'Natural Medicine and Health' and other health and wellness accounts, whose purpose was to hype up their accounts to become platforms for advertising promotion. In October 2016, an article titled 'Please Immediately Stop Using Microwave Ovens' was reposted in large numbers online. The article claimed to be reposted from People's Daily, but it did not mention the original publication date and page number, and its format was very different from traditional news writing. It is understood that People's Daily never published any article about 'stopping the use of microwave ovens' and had already published a debunking article about the 'microwave ovens cause cancer' claim four years earlier.
5. Drinking Milk Can Cause Cancer
On December 12, 2003, American nutrition professor Campbell proposed at the Oriental Science and Technology Forum in Shanghai that excessive milk consumption leads to excessive animal protein intake, and cancer cells may be 'promoted' by high protein. On June 3, 2004, Southern Daily published a report that a British professor believed dairy products are catalysts for cancer in the human body. In the following years, many articles about the harm of milk to the human body from foreign studies were widely reposted on Sina Blog, Baidu Tieba, and various community forums, and even spread on websites like 'Bioon' and 'Health Online.' In response to this claim, Life Times on December 19, 2006, conducted telephone interviews with Professor Campbell and domestic experts, debunking the 'milk causes cancer' theory as being based on consumption levels and research on Western dietary structures. On March 23, 2007, the Ministry of Health's website published in full a signed article by 15 authoritative domestic experts titled 'Health Education Should Respect Science and Facts - Refuting the 'Milk Is Harmful' Theory,' and People's Daily on May 31, the day before World Milk Day, published a full-page debunking message and milk health knowledge. To this day, the claim that 'milk causes cancer' continues to deceive people on major social platforms, and the article 'Milk Sends Humanity into the Grave of Cancer' that went viral on social media once again pushed milk safety to the forefront of public opinion.
6. Instant Noodles Are 'Junk Food'
Starting in October 2003, food professional websites such as Huaxia Jingwei and Bioon, as well as mainstream portals like Sohu and Sina, reposted the 'World Health Organization's List of Top Ten Global Junk Foods,' which included instant food, claiming it 'contains preservatives and flavorings, has only calories, and no nutrition.' This view confirmed the public's perception of instant noodles and has since become deeply ingrained. On September 29, 2004, 'China Food Technology Network' first invited relevant professors to debunk it, introducing the nutritional components of instant noodles, but similar science popularization had little impact and still could not reverse the public's stereotype of instant noodles. In November 2010, an upgraded rumor even appeared claiming 'eating one bowl of instant noodles requires 32 days for the liver to detoxify.' Similar negative claims about instant noodles have also caused China's instant noodle sales to decline for five consecutive years since 2011.
On September 9, 2016, the 'Instant Food Rumor Debunking Press Conference' was held in Beijing, co-hosted by the China Food Rumor Alliance and the Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology. Experts at the meeting explained one by one the long-standing rumors that have troubled consumers, and major news media also 'rehabilitated' instant noodles.
7. Injected Watermelon Causes Poisoning
In the summer of 2016, during the peak watermelon season, a message claiming 'if there are yellow-white tendons in the flesh, it means the watermelon has been injected' went viral on major social platforms. In fact, this rumor had already appeared in 2012 and would resurface every watermelon season. The WeChat public account 'Fuyang Eat, Drink, Play' published on April 9, 2015, 'Don't Eat This Kind of Watermelon, It Has Already Poisoned 12 People...', and Toutiao's 'Nutritionist Wang Qi' published on June 27, 2016, 'Watermelon Poisoning Incident, Tell Your Family, Don't Eat 'Injected' Watermelon!', and the WeChat public account 'Parenting Recipe Collection' published on October 22, 2016, 'These Fruits Have Been Tampered With, Don't Buy Them for Your Children!' In response, media such as People's Daily and Ningbo Daily conducted experiments to tell the public that injecting watermelons is not profitable for farmers and is not feasible.
8. Eating Persimmons and Yogurt Together Causes Death
Since September 2016, a rumor spread online: 'Attention to families with children: It's persimmon season now... A true incident happened today: a little girl ate persimmons and then drank yogurt, and within half an hour she died of poisoning!' In fact, this message did not include details such as the time, place, or people involved. A search for 'persimmon + yogurt' as keywords did not reveal any recent incidents of poisoning or death from eating persimmons and yogurt. It is understood that similar claims of poisoning from eating persimmons with yogurt or crab had already appeared in 2012, and media such as Chutian Evening News and Baotou Evening News had interviewed experts on this claim, who all said they had not heard of such a claim.
9. Straight Cucumbers Are Sprayed with Chemicals
'Straight cucumbers are all sprayed with chemicals; curved cucumbers are natural' and 'Buy curved cucumbers, choose short chives' - such claims go viral on social platforms every cucumber season. In 2016, similar rumors appeared again. The WeChat public account 'Kangnian' published on September 7, 'These Things Are Not Food, But 'Poison'', and 'Small Speaker Promotion Platform' and 'Leshan Real Estate Information' published the same article on September 14 and September 18, respectively. It is understood that the claim 'straight cucumbers are sprayed with chemicals' had already been on the online rumor list in 2015, and well-known media such as Global Times, People's Daily Online, and Xinhua Net had debunked it multiple times.
10. Houttuynia Cordata Causes Cancer
On June 12, 'Hippocrates Disciple' posted a long Weibo article titled 'Houttuynia Cordata and Aristolochic Acid Nephropathy,' claiming that Houttuynia cordata may induce kidney disease and cancer due to its content of aristololactam, sparking heated discussion among netizens. In fact, the claim that Houttuynia cordata induces kidney disease and cancer originated from science writer Fang Zhouzi's 2014 statement that 'regular consumption of Houttuynia cordata can lead to kidney failure.' At the 2016 China Food Rumor Forum, the China Food Rumor Alliance released three major food rumors, and the online claim that 'Houttuynia cordata can cause kidney disease and kidney cancer' was assessed by experts as lacking rigorous logical reasoning and being hasty in conclusion.
11. Toxic Bean Sprouts Are 'Five Poisons'
In 1985, the '8503' rootless bean sprout growth regulator was developed and applied on a large scale nationwide. On December 22, 2010, Dahe Daily exposed an unverified report claiming that a bean sprout producer in Zhengzhou used 'rootless growth hormone, a hormone drug, and five of its additives can cause cancer.' In response to this rumor, on January 25, 2011, the 'Rumor Crusher' section of Guokr.com published an article debunking it for the first time. However, after two substances in the rootless bean sprout growth regulator were removed from the food additive list by both the Ministry of Health and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine in 2011, rootless bean sprouts were subsequently classified as 'toxic bean sprouts' and began to be investigated and cleared across the country. In the following years, multiple media outlets published unscientific and erroneous reports exaggerating the harm of rootless bean sprouts, leading to the public's misinformed belief that they were 'five poisons.' For example, on April 20, 2011, Legal News defined Shenyang's rootless bean sprouts as 'using harmful illegal food additives.' On January 13, 2015, a Beijing local website, in conjunction with Baidu Knows, classified it as one of the 'Top Ten Life Rumors of 2014.' On January 15, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government released a research report through The Paper to debunk it again. On May 21, 2015, the China Food and Drug Administration, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the National Health and Family Planning Commission jointly issued the 'Green Food - Sprout Vegetables' standard, setting limits for the use of rootless agents in bean sprouts.
12. Injecting Mud Crabs
On July 15, 2016, a video of injecting mud crabs went viral on social platforms. The video showed an elderly woman using a syringe to inject an unknown liquid into mud crabs, and netizens speculated that the injection was carotene, yellow powder, crab roe paste, or urea essence, sparking widespread discussion. This online rumor was actually a 'repeat performance.' As early as August 12, 2015, 'Sanmen Food Safety Taizhou Market Supervision' had published a message titled 'Injecting Mud Crabs?! Not Credible!!!' In response to the reappearance of false information such as 'injecting mud crabs' and 'water-injected mud crabs' in 2016, media such as People's Daily Online and Modern Gold News debunked it again, confirming that this claim was unreliable and untrustworthy.
13. The 'Contraceptive Drug' Food Controversy
On May 12, 2001, Jiangsu Agricultural Science and Technology News debunked the social rumor that contraceptives were used to raise eels. On April 4, 2004, CCTV's 'Weekly Quality Report' revealed that vendors in Nanjing admitted to using contraceptives to farm eels, and on October 14 of the same year, CCTV's health channel debunked it, but during this period, many media outlets had already reposted this false news. On June 27, 2007, Beijing TV's 'Happy Life Tips' program exposed a vegetable vendor who admitted to spraying a liquid on cucumbers during cultivation, similar in nature to contraceptives. On June 15, 2009, China Food Technology Network determined that the substance sprayed on cucumbers was a plant hormone. In the following years, the hormone components in contraceptives were controversial among netizens and were repeatedly used as 'ripening agents' for various agricultural and aquatic products. On September 29, 2015, in the first China Food Rumor List released by the China Food Rumor Alliance, it was pointed out that eel farming has nothing to do with contraceptives.
14. Crayfish Are Used to Dispose of Corpses
On September 17, 2003, CCTV's Life Channel received a viewer letter claiming that crayfish contain harmful substances and live in dirty environments, and conducted a special investigation to debunk the claim that 'crayfish are harmful and live in dirty environments.' In June 2005, a rumor that 'crayfish were used to dispose of corpses during World War II' appeared on Baidu Tieba and was widely reposted on Tieba and Tianya Forum, sparking heated discussion. On July 24, 2006, Jiefang Daily debunked it, stating that although crayfish can survive in polluted waters, it does not mean they only live in polluted waters; their heads do tend to accumulate heavy metals, but their bodies do not store them. However, contrary to expectations, the rumor further fermented, giving rise to derivative rumors such as 'crayfish are not shrimp but insects' and 'foreigners dare not eat them.' On January 19, 2011, The Beijing News again invited agricultural experts to publish articles to debunk it, and public opinion began to calm down. In 2014, mainstream media such as People's Daily Online and Guangming Online also published articles on the health and safety of crayfish to counter the reappearance of rumors about crayfish.
15. KFC and McDonald's Use Genetically Modified Chickens
Since 2008, rumors about KFC's 'six-winged chickens' and 'spider chickens' have been circulating across the country, and many people linked six-winged chickens to genetically modified organisms, fearing that eating them would cause genetic mutations. As of the end of April 2015, there were over 4,000 related posts on WeChat public accounts, with more than 130 accounts having articles with over 100,000 reads. Among them, articles from 10 WeChat public accounts, including 'Guangzhou Men and Women,' 'Chinese Buddhist Quotes,' 'Practical Life Tips,' and 'Zero Point Health,' attracted particular attention from netizens. The false content in these articles had already been rated as one of the 'Eight Most Absurd Events' by the media in 2008. Subsequently, multiple media outlets such as Xinmin Online, People's Daily Online, Sina, and Sohu debunked the rumors, but with little effect. On May 26, 2015, KFC filed a lawsuit against these 10 WeChat public accounts as the first batch. In early February 2016, the court of first instance ruled that the three defendants involved in the 10 WeChat public accounts must apologize prominently on the homepage of the news section of mainstream portal websites and pay 600,000 yuan in economic losses and reasonable legal fees to the plaintiff.
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