The Associated Press is reporting that some 180 food factories in China have been closed because "inspectors found industrial chemicals being used in products from candy to seafood."

Among the problems, according to the AP story, formaldehyde, illegal dyes, and industrial wax were being used to make candy, pickles, crackers and seafood. The AP story makes it worthwhile to ask again a question we first asked back in May: What are you invested in? We said then that if China's overseas markets begin to question the safety of particular products, those industry may suffer. And that is exactly what is now happening.

The EARTHtimes published a report earlier this week from the RPNewswire that says that the food processing industry in China is broken and that fixing it will take $100 billion. Overseas investors in China's food industry may wonder if they're throwing good money after bad as the cost of raising safety and quality standards in the food industry begins to mount...