The label “Made In China” is so ubiquitous in the U.S., that we expect to see it on the majority of goods in our homes. However, one place you may not expect to see it is on foods you eat every day.

In a recent report from Epoch Times, studies found that garlic from China is full of pesticides and heavy metals. Do you know where your garlic comes from?

Epoch Times claims that “64,876 tons of dried, fresh, or chilled garlic, were imported from China in 2014… About a third of the garlic in the United States comes from China.”

The report continues: “An undercover magazine reporter investigating in the area found that many vegetable farmers used phorate and parathion, two pesticides banned by the government, to irrigate the crops to save time and effort.” Furthermore, “An official government report in 2014 showed that nearly a fifth of China’s soil is contaminated by heavy metals like cadmium and arsenic as well as unhealthy amounts of pesticides and fertilizers. Severe pollution has tainted all of China’s major rivers with large amounts of industrial chemicals and household waste.”

How do you know if the garlic in your supermarket comes from this contaminated source? Look for two things:

At the store, look for heavier and more bulbous garlic with the roots and stems still attached. Chinese garlic is lighter, and to save weight, the Chinese cut the roots and stems off from the garlic.

At home, give it a little taste. The richer taste of the… 

garlic indicates that it is produced in California. If it lacks that pungent garlic flavor, throw it away.

Here are more foods that come from China. Some of these just might surprise you.

Tilapia is commonly fish-farmed in China. These fish are some of the worst, most toxic and unhealthy fish that you can come across. A tilapia fish will eat anything, comparable to a bottom-feeder fish and fish farming is a small pool of wastewater that the fish live in. It’s one of the worst fish purchases you could buy and it’s commonly known that in China the seafood farmers won’t even let their children eat the seafood that they farm, that should tell you something. 80% of the Tilapia in America comes from China.

In 2013 the US Department of Agriculture approved the sale of Chinese chicken in America. Many food safety experts are concerned with the quality of this chicken as China is a country where avian influenza and food-borne illness are common. Beyond that, China produces more pesticides than any other country in the world and is polluted by not only that but mass production and industry.

Plastic Rice: It is believed that it is actually made from potatoes and a fake synthetic resin. When boiled, the rice stays hard and doesn’t cook like regular rice. It is believed that long-term effects of this food could be cancerous.

A vendor in China collected mud and sold it as black pepper, and also took flour and sold it as white pepper. Call it whatever you want and sell away! The Chinese don’t have a lot of due diligence in their food and safety regulatory systems. Not that these are always great, just look at America! We have standards but very low standards at best.

Watch the video below and share this article with your friends to help them stay informed on the matter!