With the mid-Autumn festival near, mooncake makers should have been happy. This year, however, there is little to smile about. With several European and American countries setting stricter standards for Chinese-made mooncakes, many producers have had to abandon overseas markets.
In this shopping mall in the southern city of Guangzhou, all the mooncakes are on sale, even the high-end brands.
A salesman said, "Lianxianglou never lowered its prices as much as this year. The discount this year is 50 percent. "
Many of the high-end brands used to be mooncake exporters. But this year, they have been forced to compete domestically.
Li Hui, General Manager of Guangzhou Lianxianglou Company, said, "We had to give up US orders. "
The US prohibits egg yolks in imported mooncakes. Many other countries, including Canada, Spain, Australia, Japan and EU countries also set higher standards for filling and additives in mooncakes.
Some regulations are so strict that they do not permit egg yolk in the filling unless soaked in two liters of water with one kilogram of salt for more than 20 days, and baked for more than 15 minutes under 180 degrees Celsius.
Mooncake makers say such requirements are unreasonable.
Li said, "One kilogram of salt can't even dissolve in two liters of water. What kind of egg yolk would still be suitable for eating after being soaked in the water? And baking it for 15 minutes? What would it be after that? That's not mooncake. It's not even food. "
Industry insiders say the US will soon issue a bill on reinforcing food safety. It will make the country's biggest revisions in seven decades on food, drugs and cosmetics. And that will make China's food exports to the US more difficult.
(CCTV September 18, 2009)
