In China, what causes merchants to become both corrupt and unscrupulous, even anti-human? Shrimp (frozen shrimp): excessive addition of phosphate water-retaining agents to increase weight, absorbing water before freezing and selling. Silver fish, small dried fish: soaked in industrial formaldehyde for preservation to extend shelf life at room temperature. Squid, beef tripe: bleached with industrial hydrogen peroxide to whiten the color. Sea cucumbers: soaked in caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) to swell and increase weight. Basa fish fillets: high concentrations of water-retaining agents to prevent water loss and increase weight. Frozen hairtail: repeatedly thawed and refrozen to mask spoilage. Live shrimp: in some cases, banned antibiotics are used to maintain survival rates. Small workshops' sausages: excessive use of nitrites to preserve redness. Freshly made meatballs, fish balls: excessive use of phosphates + baking soda to alter texture. Braised beef, cooked beef: illegal coloring agents to make the color bright red. Pork: water injection or brine to increase weight. Roast duck, roasted chicken: excessive use of coloring or caramel coloring to mask aging ingredients. Chicken meat: residual veterinary drugs (sold before withdrawal). Roasted sunflower seeds: flavoring sprays to cover stale taste. Roasted sunflower seeds: illegal or excessive use of sweeteners (sodium saccharin, saccharin). Peanuts: excessive mold inhibitors or stir-frying to hide mold. Pistachios: dyed to cover yellowing or staleness. Tangerines: repeated spraying of mold inhibitors or overly concentrated to extend shelf life. Oranges: excessive use of surface preservatives. Citrus fruits: drugs used to mask mold spots that appear during transportation. Bananas: illegal use of calcium carbide for ripening. Bananas: ripened and then refrigerated again to delay blackening. Mangoes: illegal ripening agents to accelerate market entry. Large cherries: excessive spraying of antifungal agents to prolong appearance. Strawberries: pesticides applied before the safe interval. Blueberries: re-packaged after cold chain disruption for sale. Goji berries: industrial sulfur fumigation, sulfur dioxide levels seriously exceeding standards. Star anise: sulfur fumigation to maintain color. Chili powder: illegal dyeing with Sudan Red to enhance red color. Dried chili peppers: dyed to hide old stock. Eggs: illegal feed additives like melamine to increase detected protein content. Salted duck eggs: illegal dyes to make yolks redder. Milk powder: melamine to increase protein test results. Egg products: feed contamination leading to melamine in eggs. Hard candies, diet foods: illegal addition of diuretics or drug ingredients to enhance effects. Liquor: added similar medicinal ingredients to boost "effectiveness." Cooking oil: uncleaned oil tanks used to transport chemicals and then used for cooking oil. Bulk cooking oil: mixed with low-quality or recycled oil. Rice noodles, noodles: illegal whitening agents. Rice vermicelli: industrial alum or illegal additives to increase toughness. Rice rolls / wet noodles: illegal preservatives to extend shelf life at room temperature. Fried dough sticks: excessive alum making them fluffy and crispy. Steamed buns: illegal whitening or bleaching agents to make them whiter. Bun filling: added excessive water to keep soft and increase weight. Frozen dumplings: using inferior meat filling with flavoring to mask odor. Street barbecue sausages: coloring and flavoring to cover low-quality ingredients. Duck necks, duck wings (marinated): reusing marinade and adding preservatives to extend shelf life. Cold mixed kelp: bleached with hydrogen peroxide to make it bright green. Dried daylilies: sulfur fumigation to maintain color. Dried bamboo shoots: sulfur dioxide fumigation to prevent mold. Snow fungus: bleached to appear unnaturally white. Dried black fungus: dyed darker. Red dates: soaked in sugar syrup to increase weight. Candied fruits: excessive sweeteners and preservatives to prolong shelf life. Pickled vegetables / preserved vegetables: improper nitrite control leading to high levels. Pickled pepper products: excessive preservatives. Sauerkraut: artificially fermented with acidifiers for quick production. Bottled chili sauces: layered preservatives to extend shelf life. Sesame paste: mixed with other oils to reduce costs. Low-cost ham slices: high starch content and added water-retaining agents to mimic meat texture. Beef jerky: flavoring used to mask spoilage or low-quality meat. Squid strips (snacks): bleached with bleaching agents. Jelly (low-cost): illegal use of colorants or sweeteners. Low-cost ice cream: flavoring used to mask lack of milk fat. Honey: syrup adulteration claiming to be pure honey. Royal jelly products: added flavoring to mask spoilage. Bulk spirits: industrial alcohol mixed to imitate grain alcohol. The root cause of food safety issues is not human nature but the incentive structure. Trust, consumption habits, and retail systems all influence the situation, but they are not decisive factors. What truly determines market behavior is the cost-benefit relationship established by the system. If following the rules costs more than violating them, or if the penalties for violations can be dispersed or evaded, problems will recur. Systems do not eliminate human weaknesses but determine whether those weaknesses are amplified.