It’s Not What You Eat But Where You Buy It

The end of the year means all the requisite top ten lists, but Greenpeace decided to do one a bit out of the ordinary. Earlier this week they announced a ranking of supermarkets in China by food safety. Check out what was the best and the worst, and maybe rethink where you’ll buy that New Years dinner.

The Global Times posted the listing which was conducted through a survey that looked at stores’ “stances on genetically modified food (GMF), pesticide control, and their food tracking system,” along with random inspections of the stores.

The results were that “Carrefour and Auchan tied for first, while Tesco China and Chengdu Ito Yokado failed to satisfy the survey's quality requirements.” The results of the top ten safest were as follow:

Safest markets
1. Carrefour and Auchan
3. Shanghai City Shop
4. Beijing Ito Yokado
5. Jian Mart
6. Aeon (Northern China)
7. Nonggongshang Supermarket
8. Wal-mart
9. Wellcome (Hong Kong)
10. Vanguard

Wonder how certain stores ended at the bottom? Here’s what it takes: “ Greenpeace said an independent lab study showed that cowpeas sold at [Beijing’s] Tesco markets were found to contain isocarbophos, a highly toxic pesticide.”

This survey did not include local stores like Jenny Lou’s but watch out for them to be included next year.