Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has urged the Department of Commerce to investigate garlic imports from China over food safety concerns as they are allegedly grown in sewage with forced labor.
“Food safety and security is an existential emergency that poses grave threats to our national security, public health, and economic prosperity,” Mr. Scott said.
The senator made the request following “reports that the garlic is being grown in human sewage, then bleached and harvested in abhorrent conditions often with slave labor,” according to a press statement.
In his letter, Mr. Scott raised concerns regarding China’s questionable garlic farming practices. These alleged harmful practices include: “fertilizing garlic with human feces and forms of sewage, growing garlic in sewage, bleaching garlic to make it appear whiter and cleaner to the eye after its growth in unsanitary conditions, and stripping the root end from garlic before it enters U.S. markets as to make it appear more appealing and also to comply with U.S. laws regarding prevention of soil-borne diseases and contaminants.”
Mr. Scott noted that Americans expect the government to ensure food safety and “actively protect our market from harmful products and bad actors.”
He said he believes “Food safety issues, especially on the matter of Communist Chinese garlic, grown and produced with sewage and other unsanitary practices,” were important enough to warrant an investigation.
Mr. Scott is also expected to introduce two pieces of legislation, the Sewage Garlic Imports Act and the Sewage Garlic Imports Tariff Act, to address the China garlic issue.
China Garlic
Since 1994, fresh garlic imported from China has been subject to antidumping duty. The restriction was imposed after a complaint by the Fresh Garlic Producers Association. The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) concluded that the imported garlic was sold below market value, hurting the U.S. garlic industry. Currently, the antidumping duty rate for this produce stands at 25 percent.In the most recent five-year review in May, USITC decided to keep the existing antidumping order on Chinese imported garlic.
According to data from USITC, China has dominated global garlic exports. In 2021, it accounted for 80 percent of the market share with 4.2 billion pounds.
China Food Safety
According to a report from the Congressional Research Service, food imported from China is a significant concern. Multiple food safety scandals have been reported, including fake meat and fish products, adulterated fruit and vegetable products, illicit cooking oils, tainted processed foods, spices, herbs, distilled spirits, and pet treats. Other safety issues have involved a variety of pharmaceutical drugs, body products, and other consumer goods. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says that the most commonly reported safety violations found in Chinese food are pesticides and contamination with pathogens.Additionally, the report said that the Food and Drug Administration has issued “import alerts” for various products from China, primarily fish and seafood and some produce. This allows for the detention of these products without a physical examination upon their arrival in the United States. The USDA has blocked certain shipments of meat and fish from China.
The report also noted that Congress has conducted several hearings on public health and safety concerns related to food and food ingredients imported from China. In 2013, a House Foreign Affairs Committee subcommittee held a hearing on the “threat of China’s unsafe consumables.” In 2014, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China held hearings on pet treats and processed chicken from China and testimony on China’s food and drug safety concerns in 2013. Moreover, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission inspected safety and trade issues linked to Chinese seafood in 2008.
