The recent milk contamination scandal has led to perhaps the largest public awareness campaign China has seen in recent history surrounding the conditions of its food chain.  Sure, there was the story last year about cardboard filled dumplings, and there was that case of “big headed baby” syndrome, and there have been countless cases of food poisoning.. but this time it was different.

Unlike the other cases, where the stories were localized, this is a scandal that led millions of parents across China to take their child to the hospital for testing.  It lead to a broad based, front page, outcry that things need to change.

More importantly though, is that like Upton Sinclair’s book The Jungle, it is putting the spotlight on the food industry as a whole and providing the fuel that reporters and lawyers alike need to expose and redress the problems that exist in China’s supply chain.

To date, where I believe this series of events is already different than say the toothpaste issues of last year, or the dumping issues, is that the media are now going out on their own to investigate related pieces.  i.e., they are not just sticking to the milk story, but are moving to find other stories that have not been reported on.

An example of this that I think highlights this the best (h/t CSR Asia) involves meat processing in China, and the conditions that were found at one facility in Wuhan.  According to the report, while inspections of the facility did take place, the conditions were truly horrendous (see graphic picture here, here, here, and here).

Following what has been a record year for many in the media (snow storm, earthquake, and Olympics), it is clear that the media’s role in events like the above are only going to become more and more frequent.  They are becoming more bold, are enjoying more support from citizens and central party figures alike, and are apparently now willing to do some investigative reporting as a means to set themselves apart from those covering the Xinhua line.