Of the 152 product recalls between January and June of 2007, 104 were products of China, while these recalls weren’t just limited to food and drug products, China has gotten a black eye when it comes to product safety.

So its only with a little humour that I read that China manufacturers are going kosher to counter the U.S. backlash against their tainted products. In fact,

Fully half the Chinese exports to the U.S. of $2.5 billion a year in food ingredients, such as coloring agents and preservatives, are kosher, up 150 percent from two years ago, the Orthodox Union estimates.

The article gives mixed opinions on whether kosher food is any safer, since rabbis don’t perform scientific food-safety tests, but many consumers buy kosher products because of their perceived safety benefits.

While food companies say they already use many comprehensive safety procedures, analysts say they have a lot to learn. “If unsafe food is getting through, then someone has dropped the ball,” said James Morehouse, a senior partner at A.T. Kearney in Chicago and lead author of a study on China’s food-safety system. “The rabbis are an example of a working inspection system.”

Whatever the outcome its certaintly having a positive effect, Nanjing Biotogether had exports soar to 11 times their value(up to 450 million yuan($62 million)) in the year since they got the kosher stamp.

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