How does 14,000 tons of "pesticide residue salt" flow to the dining table?

The case of illegally manufacturing and selling “Pesticide Residue Salt” by a company in Jiangsu was recently held in the People’s Court of Qiquan District, Fuyang City, Anhui Province. The defendant illegally produced and sold 14,000 tons of “pesticide waste residue salt” and flowed into the salt market in 12 provinces and municipalities across the country. Some of the “pesticide waste residue salt” flows into the dining table as salt.

Since last year, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Shanxi provinces have seized a number of cases involving private trading in the salt industry. A large number of industrial salt and even “pesticide residue salt” have entered the market, causing serious damage to the lives and property of the people. According to many provincial salt industry management departments, the current salt industry crimes appear to have new characteristics such as high risk of illicit salt, criminal network, and more concealed means. The salt industry department called for strengthening legislation, strengthening the crackdown on salt industry crimes, and establishing a linkage mechanism for various departments to curb the trend of illegal salt crimes.

"Pesticide Residue Salt" Impersonating Salt across Provinces to Create Private Salt Trafficking Chain

Last year, Fuyang Salt Industry and Public Security Department of Anhui Province intercepted 18 tons of private salt on the road and followed it in order to find a bad case of “pesticide residue salt” flowing into the food market. According to the investigation, Jiangsu Zhenjiang Haitian Salinization Company illegally produced and sold 14,000 tons of "pesticide waste residue salt" and went into the salt industry in 12 provinces and municipalities across the country. The company does not have the qualifications for production and operation of salt products. The raw materials for its production come from the waste residue produced by Zhenjiang Jiangnan Chemical Co., Ltd. after the production of pesticides.

Zhenjiang Jiangnan Chemical Co., Ltd. mainly produces herbicide "glyphosate", which produces a highly polluted industrial waste that is difficult to handle. In 2009, businessmen Xu Jingdong, Tao Xianchu, Liu Wei, and others established the “Haitian Salinization” company in Zhenjiang and purchased pesticide residue from the company at a price of RMB 10 per ton.

According to Wang Zhiyong, a member of the task force and the officer of Fuyang Municipal Public Security Bureau's Minquan Branch, “Haitian Salt” produced industrial salt by washing and drying pesticide residues without the qualification to produce and sell industrial salt. From September 2009 to March 2011, Haitian Salt Chemicals illegally manufactured and sold 14,000 tons of "pesticide waste residue salt." According to the survey, the “pesticide residue salt” intercepted by Fuyang, Anhui Province, was sold to local small traders for making sesame seed cakes, dumplings and other foods.

According to an analysis by the China Agricultural University and an environmental toxicology laboratory, the content of “glyphosate” in “Pesticide Residue Salt” is as high as 55 mg/kg, similar to “melamine” in dairy products, which is significantly higher than that of the United States, the European Union, Japan's agricultural product trade has a safety standard of 20 milligrams per kilogram. No cases have been found in Fuyang, Anhui Province, due to the consumption of "pesticide residue salt," but some experts believe that there may be potential hazards.

According to the survey, “Haitian Salting” purchased raw materials at RMB 10 per ton, with a total production cost of approximately RMB 100 per ton, and sold to private salt wholesalers at prices ranging from RMB 350 to RMB 400 per ton; private salt wholesalers re RMB 700 was distributed to unscrupulous grain and oil shops, and grain and oil stores were finally sold to small vendors for processed foods at a price of RMB 1,400 per ton. As a result, the "pesticide waste salt" industry chain has generated a 100% or higher profit rate at every link.

Majority of Cases and Crimes of Private Salt Crimes Show New Features

According to the salt management departments of Anhui, Jiangsu, and Shanxi Provinces, the current large-scale sales of unqualified salt, industrial salt, and salt-free products serve as salt sales. According to statistics, in 2011, Anhui Province seized a total of 1,914 illegal salt-related lawsuits, seized 947 tons of illegal salt products, and received fines of 850,000 yuan, 22 detainees and 14 prisoners.

According to analysis, there are three major new features in the counterfeiting and trafficking of the salt industry:

First, the nature of counterfeiting and trafficking in private property is bad, and private salt is poisonous. The large number of industrial and inferior salts seized in the market are all inconsistent with national standards for edible salt. The first is the absence of iodine, which has a great impact on the iodine removal of salt that is being implemented in China to eliminate iodine deficiency. The latest iodized salt monitoring results reported by the health department of Anhui Province showed that the iodized salt rate in some areas of Anhui Province was low, and a few areas were close to the lower limit required for the prevention and control of iodine deficiency disorders. Secondly, the industrial salt and inferior salt impurities that were investigated and disposed of were extremely high, and the heavy metals exceeded the standards, especially for pregnant women and children, and severe cases can cause poisoning.

Ding Ruming, director of the Salt and Law Department of the Salt Administration of Jiangsu Province, said that industrial salt is increasingly harmful to the human body. In the past, the vast majority of industrial salt was seawater salt and well mineral salt. Although the requirements for salt were not met in terms of heavy metals and other health indicators, human consumption did not endanger health and life. The consequences of the influx of salt into the salt market were mainly reduced. The coverage of iodized salt, the impact of salt iodization to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders work. At present, due to the rapid development of the chemical industry, industrial salt is no longer in the traditional sense of “work food”. A considerable portion of industrial salt is similar in appearance to salt but contains a certain amount of toxic and hazardous substances. Flow into the salt market, the consequences can be imagined.

Second, the trend of counterfeiting and personal trafficking is becoming more and more networked. Most of the salt products were illicitly trafficked and gangs committed crimes committed by gangs. The internal division of labor was clear. Individual cases involved the development of private salt from tens of tons to thousands of tons. For example, in the case of the poisonous salt seized in Anhui Province, “Haitian Salted” has its subordinate sales agencies spread across many provinces and cities across the country, and has been distributed and networked. At present six suspects have been captured. Judging from the cases investigated, most of the unqualified salt and three salt-free products have flowed into remote rural areas, suburban junctures, and small food processing companies.

The third is that criminal means are more hidden and embarrassing. The first is to change the outer Packaging of industrial salt or inferior salt, use the wordless bag or printed on Yuanmingfen, printing and dyeing auxiliaries, English logo and other words, to avoid supervision and supervision of the salt department; followed by the separation of people and private salt. Traffickers usually contact the buyer by phone and negotiate with a third party. Even if private salt is seized, it is very difficult to trace the situation. Once again, the offensive and defensive alliance is formed in advance, and after seizure, the parties generally hold this time and they are mobile. Delivery can not be checked on the line.

Weak enforcement measures, low legal costs, and low salt industry legislation need to be strengthened

According to Wang Daoya, deputy director of Yanyang Salt Bureau, at present, lawbreakers purchase a ton of industrial salt ranging from 300 yuan to 500 yuan. If they sell as salt, the price can reach 700 yuan to 1,500 yuan, and the profit is very high. . A one-off purchase and sale of 20 tons of industrial salt as salt sales constitutes a crime, otherwise it can only be confiscated and fined. Therefore, lawbreakers evaded criminal penalties by selling salt in small batches and in multiple batches. Administrative fines are generally less than three times the value of salt products, so crime costs are low. The lure of high profits and low costs has led to high rates of such crimes.

Ding Ruming said that due to historical reasons, the circulation of industrial salt to the salt market is extremely convenient. The current salt industry regulations provide for a permit system for salt transportation, and for industrial salt, the permit is cancelled. The result is that illegal salt traders can arbitrarily smuggle salt, and can be released if they are claimed to be industrial salt when examined on the way. The effectiveness of salt safety supervision has been greatly reduced, and the transportation channel between the industrial salt and salt markets has been opened. In addition, only strengthening supervision over the salt market is not effective. The salt market has a large number of products and spreads throughout the country. According to statistics, there are as many as tens of thousands of salt retail outlets in Jiangsu Province alone. Industrial salt license holders and industrial salt users can easily sell a variety of industrial salt to salt retail outlets, making it easier to sell to food processing companies, various canteens, and catering industries.

Last year, Shanxi Province investigated and punished a case of illegal salt trafficking across the two provinces. The suspect, Wei Wei, had repeatedly trafficked no more than 160 tons of iodine-free salt that had not been labeled since June 2010. “The number of suspected criminals Wei sold more than 160 tons in a short period of two months, and all of them were unqualified salt and three salt-free products. The case took more than a year from seizure to sentence, and the salt department had many With the public security agencies going to other provinces (cities) for investigation, evidence collection, and certification, there have been numerous setbacks, and enforcement costs and personnel investment have been quite large.” Wu Jianhua, Salt Administration Director of Salt Administration of Shanxi Province, said that from this typical case The private salt traders are incomplete in the scope of the salt industry, and they lack the loopholes, which makes it difficult for the salt law enforcement work to identify crimes, investigate and collect evidence.

China's current salt industry regulations are implemented in 1990, and there is a certain lag in the current market conditions. According to reports, with Jiangsu as an example, the management of industrial salt is mainly based on the “Measures for the Implementation of the Salt Industry Regulations of Jiangsu Province” issued by the provincial government. The "Implementation Measures" stipulates that if salt, smuggled, privately purchased, infringed, or counterfeited products are sold, the administrative department of salt industry reserves the right to seal on site, confiscate salt products and illegal income, and impose fines. If the circumstances are serious enough to constitute a crime, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law. However, there is a conflict between the above provisions and the "Administrative Punishment Act." Since the "Regulations on Salt Industry Management" does not provide for administrative penalties for the illegal operation of industrial salt, the "Implementation Measures" cannot stipulate an administrative penalty for the act.

Salt management officials at various places recommended that the management of the industrial salt market should be strengthened through the legislative form of the National People's Congress and the punishment for salt crimes should be strengthened. At the same time, a normalized law enforcement linkage mechanism for the salt and public security departments should be established to combat all types of private businesses. The practice of private trafficking ensures the national salt safety and guarantees the sustainable elimination of the iodine deficiency hazard.