Food fraud and counterfeit cotton: detectives untangling the global supply chain • Hacker News Board

Re: Food fraud and counterfeit cotton: detectives untangling the global supply chain

#111

Post by yorwba » Fri, Sep 24, 2021, 10:57 PM UTC

pphysch wrote: post #88

yorwba wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this Chinese government website might not have been compromised: http://www.chinapeace.gov.cn/chinapeace/c25030/2012-06/19/co... A man surnamed Ibrahim (so probably member of a Turkic Muslim minority) was sentenced to 10 years in prison and a fine of 200,000 RMB for illegally importing and selling illegal religious and/or pirated publications. Whether that's evidence of "China imprisoning populations solely f…

This doesn't remotely support the claim of genocide. The guy was actually accused, tried and convicted of a crime, probably involving the distribution of jihadi material. The crime of illegally distributing documents would be brutally prosecuted in the US, possibly outside the legal system. Whether it's jihadi material or pirated Disney films.

> This doesn't remotely support the claim of genocide.

You didn't ask about genocide in the comment I replied to.

> The guy was actually accused, tried and convicted of a crime, probably involving the distribution of jihadi material.

The police seized 125250 copies. I doubt jihad is nearly that popular. (His city of Hetian only has 400,000 inhabitants.) But importing any kind of religious publication beyond a small amount for personal use requires express permission http://www.gov.cn/ziliao/flfg/2007-04/20/content_589295.htm paragraph 10. Most likely it was just an edition of the Qur'an that hadn't been officially approved by the Islamic Association of China.

Re: Food fraud and counterfeit cotton: detectives untangling the global supply chain

#112

Post by belorn » Fri, Sep 24, 2021, 11:30 PM UTC

beckman466 wrote: post #93

whycombinater wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

93% are men, 7% women. Our criminal justice system is designed to incarcerate men. edit: High five to sibling comment.

your point? both statistics are valid and relevant, and aren't mutually exclusive. weird comment. statistics aren't a game you win.

I think the point is that the narrative that one choose to tell is based on which statistics one chooses to look at.

I think looking at each statistics has value when viewed together, and I would add a third one to the mix. Race is somewhat a predictor for being incarcerated. Gender slightly stronger. Wealth is slightly stronger than that with a 20x time higher rate for the bottom 10% compared to the top 10%.

For countries with high rate of refugees from specific regions on the planet, religion also becomes a predictor for incarceration.

Re: Food fraud and counterfeit cotton: detectives untangling the global supply chain

#113

Post by dunmalg » Fri, Sep 24, 2021, 11:52 PM UTC

908B64B197 wrote: post #107

OldHand2018 wrote: post #50

This is an interesting article. It also makes me think that this kind of analysis presents a lot of opportunities. Take for example the Chinese beef being labeled as premium New Zealand beef and sold for much higher prices in supermarkets. If shoppers can't tell the difference without this analysis, then it implies that the price differential between these two products is larger than it should be. That specific Chine…

> If shoppers can't tell the difference without this analysis, then it implies that the price differential between these two products is larger than it should be. But their bodies might. Standards for meat are much higher in New Zealand than in China. I would be curious to have a health inspector take a look at the facilities where the beef was produced and handled... Let's just say the country isn't new to food safe…

>Let's just say the country isn't new to food safety scandals...

Yeah, just because I can't taste the melamine they used to water down the milk doesn't mean I want to drink melamine. I especially don't want to drink the chemical they later added in addition to melamine in order to spoof the melamine detection process and continue to sell watered down, tainted milk.

The low end of food production has some seriously determined bad actors. "Let the consumer decide" definitely isn't good enough.

Re: Food fraud and counterfeit cotton: detectives untangling the global supply chain

#114

Post by dustintrex » Fri, Sep 24, 2021, 11:59 PM UTC

pphysch wrote: post #18

ilamont wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just over a year ago, at least two textile and fiber watchdogs faced scrutiny for their links to the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), a quasi-military organization that the U.S. government sanctioned in 2020 due to its role in operating mass internment camps and using forced labor in cotton fields. https://www.axios.com/global-textile-watchdogs-struggled-in-...

Sources: Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, Darren Byler, and Adrian Zenz. This should be hilarious to anyone who has been scrutinizing the Xinjiang narratives closely.

Context: A lot of Adrian Zenz's "research" is pretty sketchy. However, a lot of criticism directed his way is straight up Chinese propaganda, which also means that anybody else questioning his methods gets labeled as a wumao shill.

Re: Food fraud and counterfeit cotton: detectives untangling the global supply chain

#115

Post by aomobile » Sat, Sep 25, 2021, 12:02 AM UTC

rapjr9 wrote: post #60

From the article: "If the elements in the soil and water of a region work their way into the plants grown there, they also work their way into our bodies when we eat the produce of those plants, or when we eat the meat of animals fed on those plants. We ingest these elements, process them, and use them to build flesh, teeth and bones. So the elements making up our bodies can tell us something about the food we’ve eat…

Interesting thought.. and the data is surely available, someone must just find it and use it to connect the dots

Re: Food fraud and counterfeit cotton: detectives untangling the global supply chain

#116

Post by markdown » Sat, Sep 25, 2021, 12:12 AM UTC

vharuck wrote: post #61

wil421 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to nitpick slightly there is no such thing as white tuna. What’s called white tuna is always escolar. Albacore is a pinkish or off white tuna but I’ve never seen it listed as white tuna at a restaurant.

Out of curiosity, I wondered if the FDA agreed. And they do: https://www.cfsanappsexternal.fda.gov/scripts/fdcc/index.cfm... The FDA does warn against using the name "white tuna," but they sure don't seem to care in practice.

The FDA cares very little about most things in practice. So long as they've issued warnings (ass-covering), they'll let mislabelling and false advertising go on willy nilly.

They only get serious if people get sick. Using the wrong fish generally isn't going to make people sick.

Re: Food fraud and counterfeit cotton: detectives untangling the global supply chain

#117

Post by dillondoyle » Sat, Sep 25, 2021, 12:53 AM UTC

OldHand2018 wrote: post #50

This is an interesting article. It also makes me think that this kind of analysis presents a lot of opportunities. Take for example the Chinese beef being labeled as premium New Zealand beef and sold for much higher prices in supermarkets. If shoppers can't tell the difference without this analysis, then it implies that the price differential between these two products is larger than it should be. That specific Chine…

The environmental impacts and animal welfare are probably an issue for many consumers, so even if can't tell the difference they might be fooled into thinking their cow had a free pasture or something.

Re: Food fraud and counterfeit cotton: detectives untangling the global supply chain

#118

Post by folmar » Sat, Sep 25, 2021, 1:15 AM UTC

Animats wrote: post #109

I want UL certification fraud investigation. Someone should be buying random phone chargers, e-bike batteries, and scooters, and running them through the usual tests. If the certifications are fake, someone should go to jail.

In Germany Stiftung Warentest buys multiple samples of things to test in random shops around the country.

Re: Food fraud and counterfeit cotton: detectives untangling the global supply chain

#119

Post by quartesixte » Sat, Sep 25, 2021, 1:26 AM UTC

ilamont wrote: post #2

Most recently, the apparel world has been roiled by revelations that cotton from Xinjiang, in China, is being grown and processed using forced labour. The scandal implicated some of the world’s biggest brands, including H&M, Nike, Adidas and Gap, and prompted sanctions and restrictions in the west on imports made of Xinjiang cotton. Last August, not long after the US banned all imports containing Xinjiang cotton, US…

I love eating fish but I refuse to buy fillets because of all the fraudulent activity. At least when I buy fish whole I know what I’m getting (on a species to species level at least. Farmed/Wild/Specific region is trickier to spot)

Red Snappers and Nile Perches are very different looking fish, but you’d have to buy them whole.

Re: Food fraud and counterfeit cotton: detectives untangling the global supply chain

#120

Post by quartesixte » Sat, Sep 25, 2021, 1:29 AM UTC

paxys wrote: post #64

ilamont wrote: post #2

Most recently, the apparel world has been roiled by revelations that cotton from Xinjiang, in China, is being grown and processed using forced labour. The scandal implicated some of the world’s biggest brands, including H&M, Nike, Adidas and Gap, and prompted sanctions and restrictions in the west on imports made of Xinjiang cotton. Last August, not long after the US banned all imports containing Xinjiang cotton, US…

Also makes me think that if two different varieties of fish, steak etc. are so indistinguishable to the end consumer that you have to rely on genetic analysis to separate them, what warrants the massively inflated price of one over the other? If I order a $500 bottle of wine but am served from a $50 bottle, and neither I nor anyone else at the table can tell the difference, did I not still get the $500 "experience" I…

Specifically with fish, it depends on what you’re trying to fool with what.

But I also wonder if the way most fish seems to be cooked in Western cuisine — fillet’d and seared/fried — masquerades the physical qualities that differentiate types of fish.