The shocking photos that show why we should all think twice before buying 'fresh' food from China... as frozen berries infect at least 13 Australians and contaminate Red Cross blood supplies
Shandong, reportedly the source of berries subject to recalls in Australia, is one of China's most polluted areas
- Nanna's 1kg pack of raspberries have now been recalled after hepatitis A cases linked to the product reaches 13
- People linked to the Hep A scare can't donate blood for two months. People who donated blood on or after 1 November 2014 should contact Red Cross on 13 14 95
Rivers so toxic they run with red and purple water, oceans blooming with thick algae caused by industrial waste, reservoirs teeming with rubbish and polluted lakes filled with dead fish.
These are the photographs that show the shocking levels of pollution in China, where food regulators struggle to enforce hygiene standards for food exported to Australia.
A range of Nanna's and Creative Gourmet brand frozen berry products, sourced from China, have been recalled after they were linked to at least 13 Hepatitis A cases across Australia.
A boy swims in the algae-filled coastline of Qingdao, in Shandong province 2011. Frozen berries recalled after links to hepatitis A are imported from the Shandong province
A Chinese man wades through water polluted with sewage in Penglai, eastern China's Shandong province in this 2006 file photo
A river which flows in the Chinese village Jinling in the Shandong province is one of China's most polluted areas, reportedly where frozen berries are grown and packed before they are imported and sold in Australian stores
A child is reflected in a drainage ditch as he jumps over trash at a village which will soon be demolished, on the outskirts of Jiaxing city, Zhejiang province, in 2013
The latest recall is for the 1kg packs of Nanna’s Raspberries with best before dates until 15/09/16
It has been revealed the frozen berries which were recently recalled after links to hepatitis A, are from the Shandong province in east China, the Daily Telegraph reports.
This is one of China's most polluted areas, with cities and villages in Shandong reportedly plagued by chemical and industrial waste pollution and farming land laying adjacent to factories and petrochemical plants.
One river running through the village of Jinling is so polluted by nearby chemical factories that the water is red coloured and has a foul smell, according to local Chinese reports.
Images of the area show a river in Jinling running with water coloured red and purple. Another image shows a young boy swimming in the algae-filled coastline of Qingdao, in Shandong, where industrial and agricultural pollution has caused annual algal blooms.
On Wednesday, the first case of hepatitis A believed to be related to contaminated frozen berries was confirmed in Western Australia, adding to at least 12 other confirmed cases across Australia.
The Australian Red Cross Blood Service has banned people who have eaten the recalled berries from donating blood for two months as a precaution against the spread of hepatitis A.
A child swims in a polluted reservoir in Pingba, southwest China's Guizhou province in 2006
A worker cleans away dead fish killed by pollution at a lake in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province in 2007
And a number of Wests Tigers NRL players who have consumed the product in the past few weeks have consulted the club doctor with health concerns, although there are no confirmed Hepatitis A cases on the team. Players will be monitored for the next few weeks.
Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce has urged consumers to buy Australian produce and Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has called for an urgent review into Australia's imported food safety checks.
A consumer-led Change.org petition calling for accurate information on packaging indicating where imported food comes from has received more than 17,000 signatures.
Food microbiology expert Dr Said Ajlouni said he had run workshops about Australian food regulations for Chinese delegates and manufacturing executives, who indicated that controlling safety and hygiene standards in the country's rapidly growing food industry was a struggle.
'From talking to individuals they are struggling a lot to control the appropriate safety and hygiene measures, and provide enough supervision to ensure these manufacturers follow the hygiene practices,' said Dr Ajlouni, from the University of Melbourne.
'China is a huge country and controlling every individual manufacturing company has been difficult, that is the message I got.'
Dr Ajlouni said Australian importers needed to take more responsibility for food safety checks in China.
'As Australian importers we should be more pro-active and visit and see exactly what's happening during manufacturing in China,' he said.
'Don't take for granted the certificate you receive with the produce.'
Dr Ajlouni added that the cause of the 'dangerous' Hepatitis A contamination needed to be found urgently.
'If the processing not done well we will face similar problems in the future,' he said.
'This is why I have been emphasising again and again that we need to identify the route of the problem.
'Was it inappropriate personal hygiene, inappropriate use of dirty water, something dirty in manufacturing area?
A labourer cleans up oil at the oil spill site near Dalian port in China's Liaoning province on July 23, 2010
A journalist takes a sample of the red polluted water in the Jianhe River in Luoyang, Henan province in 2011
The small town of Jinling in east China's Shandong province is located near the Qilu Chemical Industrial Park in Zibo City
'Not enough education for workers? Or it could be dirty air, dirty packaging material.'
This comes as raspberries were added to the growing list of Nanna's frozen berries that people should throw out of their freezers as the risk of hepatitis A continues.
The latest recall is for the 1kg packs of Nanna’s Raspberries with best before dates until 15/09/16 but does not apply to the Creative Gourmet Raspberries 300g and 500g packs as the Chinese supplier, believed to have contaminated the recalled items, no longer supplies these particular products.
As the number of people who have contracted hepatitis A from consuming frozen berries rises to ten across Australia, one woman has revealed her anger and fear over potentially being diagnosed with the virus.
The small town of Jinling in east China's Shandong province is located near the Qilu Chemical Industrial Park in Zibo City, according to the Epoch Times.
In previous reports, there have been claims that the company releases chemical distribution into the river, which was once sparkly clear but has now visibly been contaminated and also emanates a stench.
Residents also say there's a 'cancer virus' floating around the village as cancer is quite common in the town.
This comes as reports emerged that health tests weren't conducted on any frozen berry products imported to Australia while similar goods have been tied to hepatitis breakout in North America and Europe,The Australian reports.
A fisherman wades in Chaohu Lake, covered in blue-green algae, in Chaohu city, Anhui province in 2013
Workers clean up leaked oil after an oil pipeline explosion in Qingdao, Shandong province in 2013
Fishermen row a boat in the algae-filled Chaohu Lake in Hefei, Anhui province in 2009
This prompted a call to have the testing system to be reviewed.
People who ate berries linked to the hepatitis A scare have been banned from donating blood for two months tests as the service tests for 70 diseases, but not hepatitis A due to its low risk.
While those who have donated, either on or after 1 November 2014, after eating the berries is asked to contact the Red Cross Blood Service on 13 14 95, so they can identify any risks posed to those receiving blood.
'This will help us identify whether or not we need to take further action to minimise the unlikely event of hepatitis A being spread via blood transfusion,' Red Cross Blood Service spokesman Shaun Inguanzo said.
Patties Foods CEO, Steven Chaur, said the further recall on raspberries was a precautionary measure as investigations identified the potential link of the product to the Chinese supplier in question.
'While there are no confirmed test results indicating a potential link to Hepatitis A, we are working proactively with health authorities based on the information they have presented to date,' said on the company's Facebook page.
Trudie Sims, from Ballarat in Victoria, had been using Nanna's frozen berries in smoothies until Sunday evening, when she was alerted to the health warning which had been issued.
'I'm really angry ... (and) it's absolutely terrified me', Ms Sims told Daily Mail Australia.
So far four cases of hepatitis A have been confirmed in Queensland, three in Victoria, and two in New South Wales. Ms Sims' case could take the national toll to ten.
Doctors say she is exhibiting common symptoms of the disease and expect to formally diagnose her with the virus when her results come back on Tuesday morning.
Trudie Sims, from Ballarat in Victoria, had been using Nanna's frozen berries in smoothies and doctors suspect she has hepatitis A
The products which have been pulled from shelves are Nanna's Mixed Berries 1 kilogram packets, and the 300 and 500 gram varieties of Creative Gourmet Mixed Berries.
'Over the last two to three weeks I've been getting quite sick and I just thought it was a flu,' Ms Sims revealed.
'Last night I just couldn't really swallow anymore and I was going to make a frozen drink like I have been for the last four to six weeks,' she added added.
After her partner Trevor alerted her to the health warning which had been issued when he saw Ms Sims with a packet of Nanna's berries - he rushed her to hospital.
Since her admission her eyelids have turned yellow and she is exhibiting signs of jaundice.
Ms Sims is also suffering from chronic tonsillitis and a chest infection - likely a result of her body fighting multiple infections.
'I'm massively jaundice and my liver's pretty crappy and these are the first signs of hep A from the berries,' Ms Sims revealed.
Though still awaiting the definitive results of her blood tests, Ms Sims said her doctor was almost certain she had hepatitis A, news which left her in tears.
The Ballarat woman said she feels betrayed by the food company, and claims she was misled over the origin of the product which she thought were Australian made.
She is suffering from jaundice, evident on her eyelids, and doctors expect to formally diagnose her with hepatitis A when her blood test results return
'I'm really angry', Ms Sims said before adding 'It's disgusting. We're in Australia - we have our own resources.'
She now faces at least a week of unpaid leave from her casual job, is on heavy antibiotics and can't even kiss her partner.
Ms Sims said she was beside herself when she found out, especially since she and partner Trevor visited his sick mother in hospital just last week. She hopes that she did not pass on any virus.
The Ballarat woman decided to share her story in the hopes of alerting others of the dangers.
'I thought I'm going to tell someone … if I didn't know about it then how many other people don't know,' she revealed.
In recent days the frozen berry products have been pulled from supermarket shelves after increasing numbers of people contracted the potentially deadly hepatitis A virus after consuming the fruit.
The first items to be pulled were 1kg packets of Nanna's Frozen Mixed Berries after five adults, three in Victoria and two in NSW, fell ill after eating the fruit.
Ms Sims now faces at least a week of unpaid leave from her casual job, is on heavy antibiotics and can't even kiss her partner Trevor (left) who rushed her to hospital on Sunday night
The Ballarat woman said she feels betrayed by the company, and would not have bought the fruit had she known it wasn't made in Australia
On Sunday Patties Foods also recalled a number of their products, the 300 gram and 500 gram varieties of their Creative Gourmet Mixed Berries.
Patties Foods CEO Steven Chaur said the wider recall was a precautionary measure until the results of further laboratory testing came back.
'We have decided that all our frozen Mixed Berries should be recalled until such time as we receive the results of further laboratory tests,' Mr Chaur said.
'The recall is an important step to ensure public safety and confidence.'
The berries, which are sold in major supermarkets including Woolworths, Coles and IGA stores, are packed in China and distributed in Australia by Patties Foods, based in Bairnsdale in southeast Victoria.
Meantime Australian farmers say the outbreak from frozen the berries imported from China illustrates the risks involved with imported food and called on consumers to always buy homegrown products.
Victorian Farmers Federation president Peter Tuohey said not all imported food adhered to Australia's strict guidelines which were some of the best health and safety standards in the world.
Mr Tuohey urged consumers to always buy Australian made products but conceded identifying those products could be quite challenging.
Australian farmers urge consumers to always buy homegrown products
'I can only assume that this company is using Chinese berries because they are offering a lower market price,' he told The Herald Sun. 'Berries are certainly in season in Australia.'
He said that it was likely the berries were contaminated when they were first picked.
'They may have been placed on the ground where rats and other vermin could have caused the problem,' he said.
'Unfortunately, Australian Customs don't test every batch, they only check a certain percentage of shipments.'
The health department has also told the company to recall the product that contains strawberries, raspberries and blackberries from China and blueberries from Chile.
Hepatitis A is spread when traces of faecal matter containing the virus comes in contact with hands, water or food, and then enters a person's mouth.
Hepatitis A (pictured) is spread when traces of faecal matter containing the virus comes in contact with hands, water or food, and then enters a person's mouth.
Victoria's chief health officer, Dr Rosemary Lester, says frozen berries have been tied to outbreaks of the virus in the past.
'Hepatitis A virus infection is uncommon and normally associated with travel to countries affected by endemic hepatitis A,' she said in a statement on Saturday.
'The only common link between the cases is consumption of this product - there is no overseas travel or common restaurant exposure.'
NSW Health's Communicable Diseases Branch director Dr Vicky Shepherd said an investigation by all health agencies would help determine how many people have been affected - although some may not be struck down with the infection for a few weeks.
Symptoms of Hepatitis A include abdominal pain, nausea and fever as well as yellow skin and eyes.
Concerned consumers can call Patties Foods on 1800 650 069.
The following products have been recalled:
Nanna's Mixed Berries 1kg, up to and including Best Before Date 22/11/16
Creative Gourmet Mixed Berries 300g, up to and including Best Before Date 10/12/17
Creative Gourmet Mixed Berries 500g, up to and including Best Before Date 06/10/17
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