China’s Food Play Extends Its Reach, Already Mighty

If you dined on tilapia recently, chances are it came from China. And that artificial vanilla you just used to make cookies? It, too, may have made the same long journey to your kitchen in the United States.

A growing amount of food commonly consumed by Americans — ranging from canned tuna and mandarin oranges to fresh mushrooms and apple juice — is now being imported from China. By the end of last year, the United States imported 4.1 billion pounds of food products from

China, according to the Agriculture Department.

American imports of Chinese food products gained more attention on Wednesday, when Smithfield Foods, one of the biggest and oldest pork producers in the United States, agreed to sell itself to Shuanghui International, one of China’s largest meat processors.

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Stephanie Strom, New York Times via CHINA US Focus http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChinaUsFocus/~3/Fdh7rjfGyCU/