Battery-tainted fertilizer marks latest food scandal

Fertilizer contaminated with used batteries and other toxic waste has resulted in another food safety scandal in China, the latest in a long string of such incidents.

Jiang Xicheng, chairman of the environmental protection arm of the Guangdong Lion's Club, a charity organization, broke the news on the Internet, alleging that farmers in a suburban area of the southern city of Guangzhou made fertilizer out of fermented garbage that contained used batteries, shattered glass and kitchen waste.

"I was shocked. The heavy metal content of the fertilizer must exceed safety levels," he said. "It poses a severe threat to human health."

Zhou Yongzhang, deputy director of the Department of Earth Sciences at Sun Yat-sen University, said the used batteries could severely contaminate vegetables with lead and mercury.

He added that if farmers rotate their soil often, the contamination could get worse.

Media reports on the case have aroused anger from netizens.

"We have big supervisory departments, but their ability to function is seriously in doubt," wrote a blogger with the screenname "ruyigongzi."

A farmer from Guangzhou surnamed Zeng said it is common practice for local farmers to use garbage as fertilizer to nourish vegetables planted in infertile fields.

So common is the practice that garbage collectors transport carts of waste specifically to sell to local farmers.

"(The tainted fertilizer) is cheap but efficient," Zeng said.