Tests at Guangzhou’s Jiangnan Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market showed that a portion of the yardlong beans the market had received were tainted with illegal pesticide on Jan. 29. As a result, the city’s Agricultural Product Safety Department demanded 5.2 tons of the beans to be thrown away, Guangdong Satellite Television reports.

Pesticide being applied to yardlong beans courtesy of Baidu images

Wu Hemin, assistant manager of the market said they habitually conduct such tests and dispose of unsafe food.

All of the tainted beans came from Sanya in Hainan Province. Yardlong beans are often used in stirfries and in salads.

Food safety scandals are never far from the news in this part of the world.

When blogger and translator Charles Custer left China last year, he cited food safety as one of the reasons why he was reluctant to choose China as the place to start a family. This sparked much discussion, including this extraordinary rant.