Upon the WHO classified processed meat as cancer-causing, many observers are comforting the panicked customers that the meaning of the new finding should not be exaggerated. An article published in your newspaper recently suggests that "It was the media, not WHO, that talked up the risk in dramatic terms."

Despite the sincerity and earnest of the analysts, these words, in my view, have little effects in relaxing Chinese customers. Although the issue is overhyped by the media, it is still hard for us to view sausage, bacon and other processed meat rationally after they are put on the list of carcinogens by a professional body. Domestic meat industry is likely to face a heavier blow than its foreign counterparts.

The Chinese food market has witnessed several scandals in recent years - zombie meat, man-made eggs, poisonous infant formula, to name but a few. There are even jokes that Chinese have developed better immune systems resisting these invasions. Some companies are striving to maximize profits at the cost of the health of hundreds of thousands of people. They even blame the WHO report as "reckless" and "unscientific." This is absurd.

We have already lost our confidence in the domestic food market. It is common in China for rich parents to purchase infant formula from abroad for their babies. Thus, it is understandable that despite the relatively low cancer risk, the domestic-made processed meat is very likely to be viewed as the enemy of Chinese customers. This is a sad truth.

In fact, citizens' distrust is not just targeted at food. Many Chinese customers are crazy fans of various kinds of foreign products - Japanese toilet seat covers, Australian healthcare products, South Korean make-up and so forth. The overseas purchasing agents are becoming increasingly popular in China.

This is a shame. The poor performance of Chinese products can be attributed to a lack of effective supervision. The manufacturing process of some China-made products is not in accordance with international standards.

In the food industry, the proportion of ingredients is not subject to strict examination. For instance, industrial salt and harmful additives are used in some packaged food. Some restaurants even add poisonous chemicals to make the dishes look better.

It is high time that the authorities concerned strengthen supervision of the food industry in order to rebuild customers' confidence.

As the article said, cancer is multi-causal, and the risk of processed meat causing cancer is much lower than that of tobacco. It is true that "all of life is a trade-off of risk factors" and we should learn to view the scientific report calmly. However, domestic food security, following several scandals in recent years, is becoming increasingly less trusted by the public.

The WHO report has hit a sensitive nerve for Chinese. Confidence in the food industry is a prerequisite to preventing Chinese customers from being led around by the nose by the hysterical media reports.

Little Jelly, a freelancer based in Beijing