Formaldehyde-tainted Chinese cabbage in Qingzhou, Shandong Province, the country's largest vegetable production base, has exposed some clandestine market practices, Xinhua reported.

In their many visits to croplands and wholesale centers, reporters found that using a formaldehyde solution has been a popular, unspoken method for keeping vegetables fresh for at least three years.

Many local farmers have turned a blind eye to the dealers' practice of treating the cabbage with a formaldehyde solution.

"It's a common practice to keep the cabbages fresh," says Yin Lihua, a cabbage farmer in Qingzhou's Dongxia township. "Otherwise, the vegetables stacked tightly in their trucks would rot in two to three days."

(China.org.cn May 9, 2012)

據新華社報道，山東省青州市一些地方被傳出部分蔬菜商販使用甲醛溶液噴灑白菜進行保鮮。青州市是我國最大蔬菜生產基地。

記者探訪了商販經常光顧的農田和蔬菜批發中心，發現使用甲醛溶液為春白菜保鮮在當地十分常見，并且此法已沿用至少三年。

當地許多農民對商販使用甲醛溶液噴灑白菜進行保鮮的現象一直是睜一只眼閉一只眼。

“這種讓蔬菜保鮮的辦法十分平常，”青州市東夏鎮一名菜農表示，“不然，在卡車運輸中，白菜緊緊地堆到一起容易腐爛，壓上兩三天就會爛掉。”