So… I’d agree that sounds gross if true, not sure if it’s dangerous though. But what about the US agricultural practice of fertilizing crops like lettuce with sewage solids?
The Office for Science and Society at McGill University in Quebec, which attempts to popularise and explain scientific issues, says there is "no evidence" that sewage is used as a fertiliser for growing garlic in China.
Sure, they're supposed to sanitize and process the material in various ways before using them on crops. It's still questionable in one major way, which is the presence of pharmaceutical residue.
It's allowed in the US and the National Academy of Sciences says "the use of these materials in the production of crops for human consumption when practiced in accordance with existing federal guidelines and regulations, presents negligible risk to the consumer, to crop production and to the environment."
A US senator has called for a government investigation into the impact on national security of garlic imports from China.
Republican Senator Rick Scott has written to the commerce secretary, claiming Chinese garlic is unsafe, citing unsanitary production methods.
Since the mid-1990s it has levied heavy tariffs or taxes on Chinese imports in order to prevent US producers from being priced out of the market.
He refers to practices which, he says, have been "well documented" in online videos, cooking blogs and documentaries, including growing garlic in sewage.
He has called for the Department of Commerce to take action, under a law which allows investigations into the impact of specific imports on the security of the US.
The Office for Science and Society at McGill University in Quebec, which attempts to popularise and explain scientific issues, says there is "no evidence" that sewage is used as a fertiliser for growing garlic in China.
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The Office for Science and Society at McGill University in Quebec, which attempts to popularise and explain scientific issues, says there is "no evidence" that sewage is used as a fertiliser for growing garlic in China.