Foreign Food Lottery

Thousands of Chinese babies are in renal failure and will probably die, due to tainted baby milk. Are you leery of food products from foreign countries? What criteria do you use to accept or reject a specific product or anything an individual country may produce?

I never assume that ingredient labels from foreign countries are remotely correct. I think twice before buying foreign food products. Once I have tried something and it tastes good and I don't get sick or die, I'm a lot less apprehensive about buying it again.

I also have to admit that my judgements concerning the wholesomeness of foreign consumables is entirely intuitive. I have never been to any of these countries. I have no idea if there is any oversight as to growing conditions, processing or packing. I just make arbitrary judgements, pull'em right out of my ass.

I never buy any processed food from China but I'll buy fresh fruit, garlic and shallots. I'll buy pretty much anything but frozen food from most of the countries of Indochine, same with the PI. I'll buy from Turkey, Armenia or Sri Lanka but nothing from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh. All the North African countries that border the Med are OK with me, except Egypt. I have recently stopped buying anything from South Africa, I never used to worry about anything from there. Is this racist? Maybe, but I'm not changing my mind. I don't worry about anything from the Western Hemisphere but if I have a choice of the same product from different countries I will chose Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Peru or Paraguay over Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador or Venezuela.

I can see where my arbitrary preferences are probably prejudicial. I have no Idea if there is any validity to them. I will probably change some of my preferences as I am exposed to new information, some of it valid, some of it probably not. What's a smart shopper to do?